' 


SEVEN  LECTURES 


ON  THE 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE, 


AND  THE 


ART  OF  PRESERVING  HEALTH. 


BY  C.  W.  GLEASON,  M.D., 

PROFESSOR  OP  THE  INSTITUTES  OP  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY,  ETC. 


;  The  first  Physicians  by  debauch  were  made, 
Excess  began,  and  sloth  sustains  the  trade  :• 
By  toil,  our  long-lived  fathers  earned  their  bread — 
Toil  strung  their  nerves  and  purified  their  blood ; 
But  we,  their  sons,  a  pampered  race  of  men, 
Are  dwindled  down  to  threescore  years  and  ten. 
Better  to  hunt  in  fields  for  health  unbought, 
Than  fee  the  doctors  for  a  nauseous  draught ; 
The  wife  for  health  on  exercise  depend — 
God  never  made  his  works  for  man  to  mend." 

DR.  FRANKLIN. 


Ddtomfc  at  tfje  <®&fo  ^tedjaiKto'  Stttfttttt  in  Gtaiftftail 


AND 

REPORTED  BY  E.  P.  STONE, 

PHONOGRAPHER. 


COLUMBUS: 
PRINTED  BY  SCOTT  &  BASGOM. 

1852. 


ENTERED  ACCORDING  TO  ACT  OF  CONGRESS,  IN  THE  YEAR  1852. 

BY  E.  P.  STONE, 
IN  THE  CLERK'S  OFFICE  OF  THE  DISTRICT  COURT  OF  OHIO. 


/ 


TO 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  FEMALE  MEDICAL  COLLEGE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 
AS  A  SLIGHT  TESTIMONIAL  OF  REGARD 

FOR  HIS  MANY  VIRTUES 

AND  LONG  CONTINUED  EFFORTS  TO  AMELIORATE  AND  IMPROVE  THE 
CONDITION  OF  THE  UNFORTUNATE  AND  FRIENDLESS, 


ARE  MOST  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  BY 
HIS  FRIEND, 


LECTURE    I, 


INTRODUCTORY. 

rNnei  SEATTON — Know  Thyself — was  inscribed  upon 
the  oracle  at  Delphos  by  the  ancient  Sages  and  Phi- 
losophers, for,  adds  the  modern  poet,  "  the  proper  study 
of  mankind  is  man."  There  is  no  object,  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen,  in  a  material  point  of  view,  which  is  more 
worthy  of  our  study  and  investigation  than  the  struc- 
ture, form  and  functions  of  the  various  organs  of  the 
human  body.  The  study  of  this  wonderful  system  is 
not  only  important,  but  it  is  intensely  interesting  ;  for 
as  we  advance  in  its  investigation,  we  shall  not  fail  to 
observe  that  man  is  indeed  fearfully  and  most  wonder- 
fully made ! 

In  view  of  the  very  great  interest  and  immense 
importance  of  the  subject,  is  it  not  strange  that  its 
investigation  has  so  long  been  neglected  by  the  great 
mass  of  our  fellow  men  I  Go  where  you  will  into  our 
various  institutions  of  learning,  and  you  will  there  find 
the  pupils  engaged  in  studies  of  comparatively  little 
importance,  while  that  great  and  beautiful  science 
which  teaches  us  the  nature  of  ourselves,  and  our  re- 
lations to  the  external  universe  and  the  perfect  system 
of  laws  which  govern  it,  is  passed  by  unheeded ! 


LECTUEES   ON  THE 

There  are  few  objects,  indeed,  with  which  we  are 
less  acquainted  than  with  our  own  natures,  and  yet  we 
are  continually  acting  as  though  we  were  acquainted 
with  ourselves,  our  capacities,  our  wants,  and  the  means 
of  improving  our  moral,  physical  and  intellectual  con- 
dition. Is  it,  then,  possible  for  the  blacksmith  to  mend 
a  watch,  the  machinery  of  which  he  is  entirely  unac- 
quainted with,  or  for  the  statesman  and  philanthropist 
to  improve  the  moral,  physical  and  intellectual  condition 
of  mankind,  without  first  rendering  themselves  per- 
fectly familiar  with  the  nature  of  that  beautiful  organ- 
ization which  enters  into  the  formation  of  man,  as  well 
as  the  laws  which  regulate  its  development  and  main- 
tain its  healthy  action  down  to  the  latest  period  of  time 
which  is  assigned  to  man  ? 

If  we  turn  our  attention,  my  friends,  to  the  consid- 
eration of  the  various  objects  in  the  material  universe 
which  pass  in  review  before  us,  we  shall  be  struck  with 
the  wonderful  order  which  is  displayed  in  their  devel- 
opments, evincing  design  in  their  most  beautiful  adapta- 
tion of  means  to  ends,  and  showing  the  necessity  of  a 
great  superior  and  controlling  Intelligence  in  their  for- 
mation. The  movements  of  all  these  various  objects/ 
in  the  animate  and  inanimate  worlds,  are  governed  by 
fixed  and  unchangeable  laws,  which  were  instituted  by 
the  Creator  for  the  preservation  of  the  beauties  and 
harmony  of  nature. 

The  laws  by  which  the  winds  blow,  by  which  the  tides 
of  the  ocean  measure  with  inimitable  exactness  the  hours 
of  ever-flowing  time  —  the  laws  by  which  the  planets 
roll,  and  the  sun  vivifies  plants  —  the  laws  which  pre- 
side over  the  subtle  combinations  of  chemistry,  and 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  9 

which  measure  the  amazing  velocities  of  light  and 
electricity  —  the  laws  which  regulate  the  productions 
of  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  are  all  radiant 
with  eternal  beauty ;  and  their  contemplation  fills  us 
with  awe  and  admiration,  as  we  behold,  reflected  in 
their  sublimity  and  grandeur,  the  wisdom  and  the  power 
of  their  Creator !  (Applause.) 

"  The  inanimate  worlds  move  and  gravitate,  and  are 
chemically  changed  from  form  to  form.  The  animate 
worlds  live  and  reproduce  their  kind,  and  die,  in  obedi- 
ence to  fixed  and  unchangeable  laws.  These  laws  the 
intellect  of  man  can  discover  and  understand,  and  thus 
render  his  dominion  coextensive  with  his  knowledge. 
So  far  as  we  understand  the  laws  of  nature,  we  can 
bring  all  substances  governed  by  them  beneath  their 
action,  and  thus  produce  the  results  which  we  desire. 
So  far  as  we  understand  the  Creator's  laws,  he  invests 
us  with  his  power.  When  knowledge  enables  us  to 
speak  as  with  the  flaming  tongue  of  lightning  across  a 
continent,  is  it  not  the  same  as  though  we  had  power 
to  call  down  the  swiftest  angel  from  heaven  and  send 
him  abroad  as  the  messenger  of  our  thoughts  ?  When 
a  knowledge  of  the  sciences  of  astronomy  and  naviga- 
tion enables  us  to  leave  any  port  we  please  on  this  side 
of  the  globe,  and  thread  our  labyrinthine  way,  among 
contrary  winds,  and  through  the  currents  and  counter- 
currents  of  the  ocean,  and  enter  any  port  we  please  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  globe,  is  it  not  the  same  as 
though  the  Creator,  for  this  purpose,  had  endowed 
us  with  his  all-seeing  vision  and  enabled  us  to  look 
through  clouds  and  darkness  around  the  convex  earth?" 

To  man  was  given  dominion  over  the  earth,  and  in 


10  LECTURES   ON  THE 

it  he  discovers  a  vast  and  perfect  apparatus,  adapted 
and  designed  to  minister  to  his  enjoyment  and  to  ag- 
grandize his  power.  The  globe,  with  all  of  its  dynamic 
energies,  its  mineral  treasures,  its  vegetable  powers,  its 
life  and  action,  is  only  a  grand  and  divinely  wrought 
machine  placed  in  his  hands,  and  on  the  condition  of 
knowledge  he  may  wield  and  use  it  as  the  artizan  uses 
his  instruments  and  appliances.  Knowledge  inaugu- 
rates us  into  the  office  of  superintendent  and  director 
of  the  elements  and  all  of  their  powers.  By  means  of 
knowledge  they  may  all  be  made  ministering  servants 
to  our  pleasures  and  our  profit ! 

Such,  my  friends,  is  the  true,  philosophic  relation 
in  which  we  stand  to  this  earth  —  to  the  perfect 
system  of  laws  which  govern  it,  and  to  the  mighty 
and  exhaustless  energies  with  which  its  frame,  and 
every  organ  of  its  frame,  is  filled.  Gravitation,  repul- 
sion, caloric,  magnetism,  air,  water,  light,  lightning: 
by  means  of  knowledge  we  can  control  their  powers 
and  render  them  ministering  angels  to  our  profit  and 
our  pleasure. 

The  health  and  welfare  of  mankind  also  depend,  to 
a  considerable  extent,  upon  a  knowledge  of  and  obedi- 
ence to  the  physical  laws.  If  man  violates  the  law  of 
gravitation,  and  leaps  from  the  brink  of  the  precipice 
into  the  abyss,  he  is  dashed  in  pieces  upon  the  rocks 
beneath,  as  a  punishment for  his  temerity.  If  he  thrusts 
his  hand  into  the  boiling  water,  in  violation  of  the  laws 
of  heat,  he  burns  and  destroys  his  own  beautiful  organ- 
ization. If  he  leaps  from  the  deck  of  the  vessel  into 
the  ocean,  he  is  drowned ;  and  if  he  violates  the  laws 
which  govern  the  movements  of  electricity,  and  neg- 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  11 

lects  to  rear  the  lightning  rod  upon  his  dwelling,  the 
subtle  fluid  descends,  and  he  falls  a  victim  to  his  own 
ignorance  and  folly.  The  intelligent  mechanic  con- 
structs his  beautiful  steam  engine  in  accordance  with 
these  principles  ;  every  part  is  designed  with  a  particu- 
lar object  in  view,  and  is  destined  to  occupy  a  particu- 
lar place  in  the  machine,  and  to  move  in  accordance 
v?\\h  fixed  laws.  When  directed  by  knowledge,  it  flies 
along  the  iron  rail  with  the  speed  of  lightning,  and  the 
power  of  steam.  But  when  directed  by  ignorance 
and  presumption,  it  hurls  its  unworthy  superintendent 
to  destruction !  (Sensation  and  applause.) 

The  constitution  of  the  human  being  is  composed  of 
a  great  number  of  organs,  which  were  constructed  upon 
the  most  beautiful,  chemical,  mechanical,  and  dynamic 
principles,  and  is  governed  by  a  system  of  organic  laws^ 
upon  the  proper  observation  of  which,  the  health  of 
mankind  depends.  If  we  do  not  understand  and  obey 
the  organic  laws  which  regulate  the  healthy  action  of 
the  nutritive  system,  we  shall  soon  find  disease  mani- 
festing itself  in  the  stomach,  the  liver,  or  the  intestinal 
canal,  as  a  penalty  which  is  inflicted  upon  us  as  a  pun- 
ishment for  their  violation !  The  circulation  of  the 
blood  is  carried  on  through  the  heart,  arteries,  capilla- 
ries, and  veins,  and  if  we  do  not  comply  with  those 
laws,  which  regulate  the  healthy  action  of  this  system, 
we  shall  soon  labor  under  the  influence  of  weakness  and 
exhaustion !  If  we  do  not  comply  with  the  laws  of 
respiration,  we  shall  soon  labor  under  the  influence  of 
pulmonary  consumption.  The  same  is  true  in  refer- 
ence to  the  secreting,  locomotive,  and  nervous  systems. 
Their  functions  are  all  governed  by  fixed  and  unchange- 


12  LECTURES  ON  THE 

able  laws,  which  man,  in  his  intelligence,  is  capable  of 
appreciating,  comprehending,  and  obeying. 

Not  only  man's  physical,  but  also  his  mental  and  his 
moral  natures,  are  governed  by  fixed  and  immutable 
laws.  If  we  comply  with  the  mental  laws,  we  shall 
thereby  secure  the  strength  and  perfection  of  our  men- 
tal powers;  and  if  we  obey  the  physical,  organic,  men- 
tal, and  moral  laws,  we  shall  not  only  secure  health 
and  happiness  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  world 
which  is  to  come.  The  social  relations  of  man  in  all 
civilized  society,  are  also  regulated  and  governed  by 
their  own  system  of  laws.  Our  various  legislatures 
meet,  from  year  to  year,  and  enact  these  civil  laws,  and 
at  the  same  time  attach  penalties  to  their  disobedience. 
The  civil  government  publishes  its  system  of  laws  in 
the  various  towns  and  counties  throughout  each  State, 
in  order  that  every  good  citizen  may  become  acquaint- 
ed with  their  nature  and  penalty,  as  well  as  the  neces- 
sity of  their  obedience. 

But  the  natural  laws  differ  from  the  civil  laws  in  the 
certainty  of  punishment  which  follows  the  disobedi- 
ence of  the  former,  and  the  possibility  of  escape  from 
the  violation  of  the  latter.  If  it  appears  in  the  evi- 
dence upon  trial,  that  man  violates  the  laws  of  his  fel- 
low man,  ignorantly  or  accidentally,  it  is  considered  a 
mitigating  circumstance,  and  not  unfrequently  his 
offence  is  forgiven.  But  the  Creator  is  no  respecter  of 
persons.  His  "  rain  falls  alike  upon  the  just  and  the 
unjust."  He  grants  no  indulgence  to  the  ignorant  and 
foolish  man.  We  are  all,  indeed,  punished  alike  for 
the  violation  of  the  same  law.  If  the  wise  man  and 
the  foolish  man,  the  vicious  and  the  moral,  commit  the 
safety  of  their  lives  to  the  dangers  of  a  tempestuous 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  13 

sea  in  an  unworthy  vessel,  they  find  one  common 
grave, 

"  In  the  deep  bosom  of  the  ocean  buried !" 
(Strong  sensation.) 

Now,  God's  natural  laws  cannot  be  obeyed,  unless 
they  are  understood !  We  send  our  missionaries  among 
the  heathen  and  barbarous  races,  in  order  to  make 
known  to  them  the  glorious  truths  of  divine  revelation  ! 
We  build  our  temples  of  worship  and  employ  teachers  to 
expound  the  moral  law,  so  that  none  may  perish  through 
ignorance,  but  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth 
which  is  revealed  to  us  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures ;  while 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  human  beings  annually 
perish  for  want  of  that  knowledge  which  the  Creator 
has  alone  revealed  to  them  through  the  study  of  them- 
selves !  (Sensation  and  applause.) 

For  ages,  most  of  our  attention  has  been  directed  to 
the  improvement  of  man's  moral  nature,  independent 
of  his  physical  organization.  Now  the  soul  cannot 
exist  in  this  world  independent  of  the  body,  and  the 
perfect  system  of  laws  which  govern  it;  and  it  is 
equally  incumbent  upon  us  as  a  Christian  and  a  moral 
duty,  to  preserve  the  one  and  obey  the  other.  (Ap- 
plause.) 

The  Bible  reveals  to  us  a  most  perfect  system  of 
laws  for  man's  moral  government,  and  those  laws  we 
believe  to  be  divine,  because  they  harmonize  with 
man's  nature,  capacities,  and  wants.  But  it  should  not 
be  forgotten  that  the  great  Creator  who  made  the  Bi- 
ble, also  made  man,  and  the  perfect  system  of  laws 
which  regulate  his  physical,  as  well  as  his  mental  and 
his  moral  nature ;  a  knowledge  of  which  he  has  only 


14  LECTURES   ON  THE 

revealed  through  the  study  of  our  own  organization. 
The  laws  of  nature  are  indeed  the  laws  of  God,  and 
execute  themselves  whenever  their  integrity  is  violated 
either  voluntarily  or  involuntarily,  through  ignorant 
presumption,  or  willful  disobedience.  Nor  is  there 
any  difference  in  the  sanctity  of  any  of  His  laws ; 
since  they  are  all  of  them  founded  in  justice,  they  are 
equally  divine,  and  He  expects  all  of  his  children  not 
only  to  obey  one  but  all  of  them,  and  if  we  do  not,  he 
has  provided  the  means  of  punishment,  in  the  form  of 
pain  and  disease  in  this  world,  and  anguish  and  des- 
pair in  the  next. 

How  exceedingly  important,  then,  it  is,  that  we 
should  understand  and  obey  these  laws ;  inasmuch  as 
we  cannot  hope  to  escape  the  penalty  which  is  inflicted 
upon  us  as  a  punishment  for  their  disobedience !  You 
would  not  entrust  the  safety  of  your  lives  to  the  care 
of  an  ignorant  engineer — to  the  care  of  one  who  was 
entirely  unacquainted  with  the  nature  and  power  of 
the  steam  engine,  as  well  as  the  laws  which  regulate 
its  action.  How  foolish  it  is,  then,  for  man  to  entrust 
his  life,  his  health,  and  his  happiness,  to  the  direction 
of  his  own  uninformed  mind,  to  the  guidance  of  one 
who  is  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  structure,  nature 
and  power  of  his  own  physical  organization,  as  well  as 
the  laws  which  regulate  its  movements.  (Great  ap- 
plause.) 

Not  long  since,  I  was  walking  through  your  beau- 
tiful park,  when  I  saw  painted  upon  a  board,  attached 
to  one  of  the  trees,  "all  dogs  caught  within  this  park, 
will  be  shot :  "  says  a  friend  of  mine,  "  Doctor,  unless 
dogs  can  read,  they  must  be  in  great  danger  here." 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  15 

Now  God  has  not  only  written  his  laws  upon  the  trees, 
but  in  the  stars  and  flowers,  and  upon  the  constitution 
of  L  in,  and  if  the  human  being  is  not  able  to  read 
them,  he  is  even  in  greater  danger  than  the  dog,  for 
the  dog  has  his  master  to  read  for  him ;  but  man  has 
no  master  between  himself  and  his  God  !  (Sensation.) 
"  Health,  strength,  and  longevity,  depend  upon 
fixed  and  unchangeable  laws,  and  not  upon  chance  or 
accident.  There  is  no  arbitrary  interference  of  higher 
powers  with  them.  Primarily  our  parents,  and  secon- 
darily ourselves,  are  responsible  for  our  diseases,  pain, 
and  suffering.  The  Providence  of  God  is  no  more 
responsible,  because  the  virulence  of  disease  rises 
above  the  ordinary  powers  of  medicine,  or  because  one- 
fourth  part  of  those  who  are  born,  die  before  they  com- 
plete the  age  of  one  year— one  seventieth  part  of  the  time 
allotted  to  them  by  the  Psalmist — I  say  the  Providence 
of  God  is  no  more  responsible  for  these  things,  than  it 
is  for  picking  pockets,  or  stealing  horses ! "  Disease 
and  pain  come  not  by  chance  or  accident;  but  are 
rather  the  penalties  which  are  inflicted  upon  us,  as  a 
punishment  for  our  disobedience  of  the  organic  laws, 
which  we  can  only  become  acquainted  with  by  the 
study  of  ourselves.  "  There  is,  indeed,  no  effect  pro- 
duced without  a  cause,"  and  to  admit  such  an  unphilo- 
sophic  assertion,  would  sap  the  very  foundation  upon 
which  the  Christian  religion  depends  for  its  support. 

Even  the  lightning  does  not  deviate  from  its  course, 
but  moves  in  accordance  with  fixed  and  unchangeable 
laws,  a  knowledge  of  which,  has  enabled  man  to  call 
down  this  swiftest  angel  of  Heaven,  and  send  him 
abroad,  as  the  messenger  of  our  thoughts !  The  mut- 


16  LECTURES   ON  THE 

tarings  of  the  thunder,  are  no  longer  regarded  as  an 
evidence  of  the  wrath  of  an  offended  Deity,  nor  is  the 
descent  of  electricity,  in  obedience  to  His  unchange- 
able laws,  regarded  as  a  special  dispensation  of  Divine 
Providence !  Since  the  days  of  our  own  immortal 
Franklin,  the  Creator  has  revealed  to  man  His  laws, 
for  the  government  of  the  wonderful  movements  of 
electricity,  and  the  means  of  regulating  its  powers,  of 
chaining  the  lightning  and  bringing  it  harmless  from 
the  clouds ;  and  if  man  avails  himself  of  this  revela- 
tion which  has  been  made  known  to  him,  and  rears 
the  lightning  rod  upon  his  dwelling,  he  secures  its  cer- 
tain protection,  as  the  reward  of  his  fidelity  to  nature's 
laws.  (Great  applause.) 

The  miserable  victim  of  intemperance,  who  blunts 
his  senses,  and  drowns  his  reason  in  the  circean  cup, 
and  then  exposes  his  constitution  to  the  frosty  ele- 
ments on  a  cold  and  dismal  winter's  night,  as  certainly 
violates  God's  organic  and  physical  laws,  and  commits 
suicide,  as  he  who  voluntarily  leaps  from  the  brink  of 
the  cataract  into  the  abyss  below  1 

But  a  few  years  since,  and  small-pox  was  regarded 
as  a  special  dispensation  of  Providence,  but  the  reve- 
lations of  God,  in  the  discoveries  of  modern  science, 
have  disclosed  to  us,  in  the  principle  of  vaccination, 
the  means  of  robbing  this  fearful  pestilence  of  all  its 
terrors  !  (Sensation  and  applause.) 

Many  of  our  diseases,  it  is  true,  are  hereditary, 
though  never  the  result  of  chance  or  accident.  Our 
parents  may  indulge  their  passions,  appetites,  and  pro- 
pensities to  excess,  and  thus  produce  disease,  pain, 
and  suffering  in  themselves,  and  afterwards  transmit 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  17 

disease  and  debility  to  their  unfortunate  offspring. 
Color,  form,  features,  scrofula,  consumption,  gout, 
rheumatism,  idiocy  and  insanity,  are  all  hereditary. 
"  The  sins  of  the  fathers  are  visited  upon  their  chil- 
dren down  even  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation," 
nor  human  law  nor  human  device  can  break  the 
entailment.  "  In  these  hereditary  inflictions,  nature 
abhors  alike  the  primogeniture  laws  of  England  and 
the  saliac  laws  of  France.  All  of  the  sons,  and  all  of 
the  daughters  are  made  inheritors,  not  in  equal  pro- 
portions, but,  by  a  kind  of  malignant  multiplication  of 
the  disease,  each  inherits  the  whole  "  ! 

Now  what  are  the  sins  of  the  fathers  which  are  thus 
visited  upon  their  unfortunate  offspring  1  "  Sin  "  has 
been  defined  as  a  "  violation  of  the  laws  of  God ; "  and 
the  "  sinner  "  is  one  who  lives  in  the  daily  or  habitual 
violation  of  the  physical,  organic,  mental,  or  moral 
laws  of  the  Creator !  Indeed,  all  pain,  disease,  and 
premature  death,  not  only  in  this  world  but  in  that 
which  is  to  come,  result  from  the  violation  of  the  Cre- 
ator's laws !  Verily,  "  the  wages  of  sin  is  death"! 

The  annals  of  medicine  demonstrate  that  nearly  one- 
third  part  of  the  diseases  which  afflict  mankind  are 
hereditary,  and  have  been  handed  down  from  parents 
to  progeny,  in  consequence  of  their  violation  of  the 
organic  laws !  What  an  interesting  fact  is  here  re- 
vealed to  the  philanthropist!  The  thought  that  at 
least  one-third  part  of  the  disease  and  suffering  of 
those  who  shall  live  in  the  next  century  depend  upon 
our  conduct  in  this,  is  well  calculated  to  fill  our  minds 
with  the  awful  responsibility  which  rests  upon  us. 

Many  uninformed,  but  well-meaning  men  and  wo- 
2 


18  LECTURES   ON   THE 

men,  have  long  thought  that  all  pain  and  disease  were 
providential,  and  designed  by  the  Creator  for  the 
improvement  of  man's  moral  nature — "  to  wean  him 
from  the  cares  and  anxieties  of  the  world,  and  to  ren- 
der him  more  spiritual  minded."  They  seem  to  have 
forgotten  that  virtue  is  active^  and  that  good  health  is 
indispensable  for  its  proper  cultivation.  "  Good  health 
is  indispensable  to  almost  every  form  of  human  enjoy- 
ment. It  is  the  grand  auxiliary  to  all  usefulness  ; 
and  if  it  is  the  duty  of  man  to  love  the  Lord  his 
God,  with  all  his  heart,  and  soul,  and  strength,  how 
much  more  abundantly  may  he  do  so,  in  the  vigor  of 
health,  than  under  the  palsy  of  disease."  It  is,  indeed, 
astonishing  that  we  have  so  long  assented  to  the  truth 
of  such  absurd  ideas  as  these,  in  view  of  their  direct 
tendency  to  immorality,  in  rendering  mankind  irre- 
sponsible for  their  conduct  in  eating,  and  in  drink- 
ing, and  in  the  proper  regulation  of  their  appetites, 
passions,  and  propensities.  The  organic  laws  hold 
mankind  strictly  accountable  for  their  own  habits,  in 
eating  and  in  drinking,  and  in  all  that  relates  to  their 
conduct  in  the  affairs  and  pursuits  of  life;  and  a 
knowledge  of  these  sublime  truths,  and  their  practical 
application  would  prove  a  most  powerful  means  for  the 
regeneration  of  the  world !  "  Verily  the  man  who  is  " 
physiologically  "wicked,  shall  not  live  out  half  his 
days;"  nor  is  this  the  worst  of  his  punishment,  for 
he  is  more  than  half  dead  while  he  yet  lives. 

An  honest  deacon,  living  in  the  interior  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania,  frequently  held  a  discussion  with  a 
professional  friend  of  mine,  belonging  to  the  same  reli- 
gious society — the  deacon  declaring  that  all  pains  and 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  19 

disease  were  produced  by  the  mysterious  ways  of 
Divine  1  evidence,  and  the  doctor  as  sturdily  declaring 
that  they  were  produced  by  mankind  themselves,  by 
violating  the  laws  of  health.  One  evening  the  deacon 
ate  very  heartily  of  buckwheat  cakes  and  sausages, 
and  was  siezed  during  the  night  with  a  severe  fit  of 
colic.  Under  such  circumstances,  he  sent  for  my 
friend,  the  doctor,  who  very  promptly  refused  to  go, 
sending  him  word,  that  if  God  had  thought  proper  to 
afflict  him,  providentially,  with  the  colic,  it  was  his 
duty  to  grin  and  bear  it,  and  not  complain ;  at  all 
events,  he  thought  it  was  not  his  place  to  give  medi- 
cine that  would  interfere  with  the  operations  of  Provi- 
dence !  In  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two  longer,  the 
servant  returned  again,  declaring  that  his  master  could 
live  but  for  a  short  time  if  he  did  not  obtain  relief 
from  some  source;  and  the  physician  knowing  that 
God's  laws  were  just  and  inexorable,  and  that  he 
would  not  suspend  them  to  relieve  a  thousand  deacons, 
thought  his  brother  had  been  punished  enough  for  his 
folly,  and  concluded  to  try  the  effect  of  a  little  medi- 
cine. As  he  entered  the  room,  he  saw,  at  a  glance, 
the  nature  and  cause  of  the  difficulty,  and  giving  him 
a  small  quantity  of  tartar  emetic,  the  way  he  put  up 
the  special  buckwheat  cakes  and  sausages,  was  a  cau- 
tion to  all  of  the  devotees  of  appetite !  (Great  ap- 
plause.) The  worthy  deacon  learned,  from  sad  expe- 
rience, to  recognize  God's  laws  for  man's  physical,  as 
well  as  man's  moral  government! 

Let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  for  every  offence 
against  the  laws  of  health,  nature  will  bring  you 
into  judgment.  That  however  graciously  God  may 


20  LECTURES    ON   THE 

deal  with  the  heart  of  man,  all  experience  proves  that 
he  never  pardons  the  stomach,  lungs,  or  brain.  These 
must  expiate  their  offences  un vicariously !  The  human 
being  cannot  eat  and  drink  to  excess,  and  when  at  last 
overtaken  with  disease,  lay  all  the  blame  upon  Divine 
Providence,  without  the  greatest  blasphemy!  The 
Creator  never  accomplishes  his  purposes  by  the  suspen- 
sion of  his  own  laws.  If  he  should  suspend  the  law 
of  gravitation,  it  would  be  attended  with  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  universe  which  was  created  and  formed 
by  his  own  Almighty  power !  Have  you  ever  observed 
an  instance  of  the  suspension  of  this  law  ?  Did  you 
ever  know  the  madman  that  leaped  from  the  brink  of 
a  cataract  into  the  abyss,  to  be  suspended  in  mid-air, 
contrary  to  the  law  of  gravitation  ]  Did  you  ever 
know  a  castle  to  rise  as  if  by  the  influence  of  enchant- 
ment, in  a  single  night,  without  the  aid  of  mortal 
hands  ?  Have  you  ever  known  the  mountain  torrent 
to  change  its  course  and  run  up  hill]  Certainly  not. 
Such  a  result  would  reverse  the  order  of  nature,  and 
annihilate  the  works  of  God  himself!  During  the 
prevalence  of  the  terrible  blast,  the  old  Greek  sailor 
called  upon  Neptune,  saying,  "  Oh !  God,  thou  canst 
save  or  thou  canst  destroy,  nevertheless  I  will  steer  my 
rudder  true."  Says  Cromwell  to  his  army,  "  trust  in 
Providence,  and  keep  your  powder  dry."  Says  Napo- 
leon, "  I  have  always  observed  that  Providence  favors 
the  heaviest  battalions." 

The  philanthropist  who  shall  convince  the  world  that 
health,  strength,  and  usefulness  depend  upon  fixed  and 
unchangeable  laws,  and  not  upon  chance  or  accident, 
will  prevent  more  disease,  pain,  and  suffering,  than  the 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  21 

v 

art  of  me  ^icine  has  relieved  since  its  discovery.     (Strong 
sensation  v 

The  injurious  consequences  arising  from  the  general 
neglect  to  study  and  obey  the  organic  laws,  may  be 
seen  in  the  frequency  of  premature  death.  How  few 
there  are  at  the  present  day,  who  live  to  attain  the  age 
of  three  score  and  ten,  the  time  allotted  to  them  by 
the  Psalmist.  The  statistics  of  our  country  show  that 
more  than  one-fourth  of  those  born  annually,  die  before 
they  reach  the  age  of  one  year,  and  more  than  half  before 
they  complete  the  age  of  ten  ! 

Now,  surely  the  all-wise  and  benevolent  Creator  nev- 
er designed  that  this  early  mortality  should  be  the  lot 
of  man ;  that  more  than  half  of  his  children  should 
die  before  they  come  to  years  when  they  can  under- 
stand and  appreciate  their  own  immortal  nature  and 
high  destiny.  Premature  death,  so  far  as  we  can 
understand  it,  defeats  the  great  object  which  the  Crea- 
tor had  in  view,  at  the  time  when  he  created  man,  and 
endowed  him  with  immortal  faculties,  and  sentiments 
to  cultivate  and  improve  in  this  world,  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  that  higher  and  nobler  sphere  of  action  here- 
after. 

If  we  consult  the  annals  of  medicine,  we  shall  dis- 
cover that  the  causes  of  the  premature  death  of  count- 
less millions,  are  within  the  control  of  human  agency, 
and  left  in  operation  only  in  consequence  of  our  igno- 
rance of  ourselves,  and  our  relations,  to  external  ob- 
jects. 

If  these  statements  of  the  ancient  sages  and  philoso- 
phers are  truths,  and  that  they  are  is  abundantly 
proved  from  the  observations  of  their  modern  disciples, 


22  LECTURES    ON   THE 

how  exceedingly  important  it  is  that  parents  should 
understand  them,  inasmuch  as  they  regulate  the  con- 
duct of  their  offspring  before  they  arrive  at  the  years 
of  discretion.  They  must  minister  to  the  wants  of  their 
bodies,  they  must  control  their  action,  and  regulate 
their  feeble  powers  and  budding  passions  and  propen- 
sities. The  parents  are  indeed  the  judges  of  the  organ- 
ic laws,  and  of  their  obedience  by  their  children,  as 
much  as  the  judges  of  our  civil  courts  are  of  the  civil 
laws,  and  it  is  equally  incumbent  upon  them  both,  that 
they  should  understand  the  laws  which  they  would 
execute.  (Strong  sensation.) 

It  has  often  been  said  that  much  of  our  health  and 
strength  in  after  life  depends  upon  the  treatment  which 
we  received  from  our  parents  in  infancy.  How  shall 
parents  discharge  this  high  and  important  duty  to  pos- 
terity, unless  they  are  first  prepared  for  it  by  under- 
standing something  of  the  constitution  of  man,  and  the 
laws  which  regulate  its  action,  together  with  the  means 
of  developing  and  improving  his  moral,  physical,  and 
intellectual  condition] 

The  celebrity  of  the  ancient  Grecians  and  Romans, 
their  progress  in  arms,  arts  and  science,  depended  upon 
a  knowledge  of,  and  obedience  to  these  laws  and  condi- 
tions. Hence  their  schools  for  physical  education, 
their  gymnasia,  their  Olympian  games,  chariot  races, 
and  gladiatorial  contests,  which  "  knit  their  limbs  and 
purified  their  blood." 

It  was  these  schools  for  physical  exercise  and  train- 
ing that  developed  and  strengthened  their  bodies,  ena- 
bling them  to  subjugate  the  whole  of  the  then  known 
world,  and  in  arms,  arts  and  the  sciences  to  win  a  fame 


PHILOSOPHY    OF   LIFE.  23 

V 

that  has  It  ng  been  the  theme  of  universal  admiration 
and  envy. 

The  sons  and  daughters  of  Columbia,  who  com- 
mitted their  fortunes  and  their  hopes  to  the  wilds  of 
America,  also  educated  their  children  in  this  Spartan 
school.  It  was  their  early  toils  and  privations,  their 
constant  warring  with  the  ruthless  elements  and  their 
more  savage  foes,  which  developed  their  constitutions 
and  invigorated  their  bodies,  enabling  them  to  carry 
on,  to  a  successful  issue,  that  great  and  glorious  con- 
test for  the  rights  of  man  and  the  freedom  of  a  nation. 

If  we  contrast  the  female  constitution  of  the  present 
day  with  that  of  the  mothers  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, we  shall  observe  its  vast  inferiority.  How  pale, 
weak  and  effeminate  —  how  utterly  incapable  of  per- 
forming those  high  and  noble  duties  which  nature  and 
nature's  God  has  assigned  her,  as  the  mother,  the 
teacher  and  the  companion  of  man !  Go  visit  your 
neighboring  cemeteries  and  inquire  who  it  is  that  fills 
those  new  made  graves  —  who  sleep  their  last  sleep 
beneath  the  cold  and  silent  marble  —  and  you  will 
learn  the  fate  of  many  a  fond  mother  and  her  dearly  be- 
loved offspring,  leaving  scarcely  a  vestige  to  tell  the 
melancholy  tale  of  their  sufferings. 

How  few  females  live  to  attain  the  full  period  of 
life  allotted  to  mankind  !  Is  it  strange  that  old  Dr. 
Beecher,  the  distinguished  New  England  divine,  when 
surveying  the  contrast  of  the  past  and  present  gene- 
ration of  females,  exclaimed  to  the  audience  of  young 
men  that  he  was  addressing,  "  for  God's  sake,  young 
men,  take  good  care  of  your  old  women,  for  you  will 
have  few  old  ones  long  "  I  (Sensation  and  applause.) 


24  LECTURES   ON   THE 

The  injurious  consequences  which  result  from  our 
neglect  to  study  and  obey  the  natural  laws  of  the  hu- 
man constitution,  may  still  further  be  seen  from  the 
fact  that  we  are  fast  becoming  a  "  nation  of  invalids." 
If  you  will  station  yourselves  upon  the  corners  of  the 
streets  and  observe  the  citizens  of  this  city  as  they 
move  on  before  you,  you  will  be  astonished  when  you 
discover  that  at  least  nine  out  of  ten  labor  under  the  in- 
fluence of  some  ache  or  complaint  which  embitters 
life,  and  destroys  the  pleasures  of  existence.  How 
many  narrow  chests  and  flushed  countenances  indicate 
incipient  pulmonary  consumption!  How  many  anx- 
ious countenances  and  glazed  eyes  indicate  nervous 
debility  and  mental  imbecility !  How  many  red  noses, 
rheumed  eyes  and  leprous  countenances  indicate  that 
they  have  "  loaned  their  stomach  for  a  vintner's 
cess  pool,  or  yielded  it  to  the  contaminating  influence 
of  the  poisons  of  distiller  or  tobacconist !"  How  many 
devotees  of  appetite  and  victims  of  gout  and  rheuma- 
tism, in  whose  distorted  joints  you  can  almost  hear  the 
crack  of  the  cork  from  th,e  champagne  bottle  as  they 
hobble  on  before  you !  How  many  distorted  limbs  and 
pale  and  sallow  countenances  indicate  the  prevalence 
of  scrofula  and  humeral  affections,  produced  from  long 
confinement  in  impure  air! 

The  sedentary  avocations  to  which  large  numbers 
of  delicate  females  are  confined,  in  the  principal  cities 
of  this  country,  occasion  sad  havoc  in  human  health 
and  no  small  deterioration  in  public  morals.  An  in- 
calculable number  of  females  are  confined  at  sedentary 
employments,  in  impure  air,  from  early  morning  until 
dewy  eve,  and,  indeed,  too  often  from  dewy  eve  until 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    LIFE.  25 

early  morning,  ngendering  disease  in  themselves,  and 
afterwards  transmitting  disease  and  debility  to  their 
unfortunate  offspring.  But  large  as  is  this  class  to 
which  I  have  alluded,  it  is  as  a  drop  of  water  in  the 
ocean  when  compared  with  the  countless  myriads  of 
both  sexes  and  of  every  age,  pent  up  in  the  foul  atmos- 
phere of  our  countless  factories  throughout  this  coun- 
try, inhaling  alike  the. moral  and  the  physical  poison, 
which  corrupts  the  mind  while  it  enervates  the  body. 
"  Can  it  be  possible  that  the  individual  deterioration 
thus  engendered,  diffused,  and  perpetuated,  shall  not, 
in  the  process  of  time,  effect  the  great  mass  of  society 
at  large]  Unless  these  causes  of  deterioration  shall 
be  arrested  by  the  general  diffusion  of  physiological 
information,  I  think  it  is  far  from  improbable,  that 
some  ten  or  twelve  centuries  hence,  when  New  Hol- 
land shall  have  become  a  great  and  powerful  empire, 
and  the  Indies  and  Islands  of  the  Ocean  a  swarm  of 
independent  Republics,  that  some  contemplative  phi- 
losopher shall  stand  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  as 
Gibbon  stood  on  the  tower  of  the  capitol  at  Rome, 
musing  and  meditating  on  the  decline  and  fall  of  a 
great  and  glorious  Republic,  and  on  the  degeneracy  of 
a  free  people,  whose  commerce,  arms,  and  arts,  and  sci- 
ences, had  long  been  the  theme  of  universal  admiration 
and  envy !"  I  know  not  why  America  may  hope  to 
escape  the  fate  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  of  all  the 
great  nations  of  antiquity,  unless  she  profits  by  their 
example,  and  avoids  the  cause  of  their  decline. 

"  I  fear  that  the  same  contemplative  philosopher, 
when  surveying  the  stunted  forms,  and  pale  and  feeble 
constitutions  of  our  unfortunate  manufacturing  popula- 
tion, will  be  led  to  exclaim : — 


26  LECTURES   ON  THE 

"  '  'Twas  not  the  sires  of  such  as  these, 
That  dared  the  elements  and  pathless  seas  — 
That  made  proud  Briton's  monarchs  feel, 
How  weak  their  gold  against  Columbia's  steel ; 
But  beings  of  another  mould — 
Rough,  hardy,  manly,  bold.'  " 

"  I  know  that  there  may  be,  and  I  believe  that  there 
is  something  in  the  soil,  genius,  and  Republican  Insti- 
tutions of  the  Anglo  American  race,  that  will  maintain 
a  most  desperate  resistance  to  these  inevitable  causes 
of  national  deterioration ;  but  he  must  be  blind,  indeed, 
who  does  not  witness  the  onward  working  of  these 
causes  in  our  own  days !" 

If  we  would  then  avoid  the  fate  of  the  most  illustri- 
ous nations  of  antiquity,  if  we  would  prolong  our  own 
individual  existence,  and  increase  our  happiness,  we 
must  study  the  nature  of  ourselves,  and  our  relations 
to  external  objects. 

This  is  a  duty  which  is  equally  incumbent  upon  the 
healthy  and  robust,  who  would  prolong  life,  as  well  as 
the  weak  and  the  feeble,  who  would  wish  to  regain 
health.  If  you  have  a  large  and  powerful  horse,  and 
you  wish  that  he  should  last  a  long  time,  you  treat 
him  with  the  greatest  kindness  and  attention;  you  do 
not  drive  him  too  fast,  and  when  he  returns  home  cov- 
ered with  perspiration,  you  do  not  let  him  drink  imme- 
diately, but  cause  the  groom  to  rub  and  blanket  him, 
in  order  that  he  may  not  take  cold,  and  get  rheuma- 
tism or  stiffness  in  the  joints.  If  you  have  a  valuable 
watch,  and  you  wish  to  preserve  it  for  a  long  time, 
you  use  the  greatest  care  in  winding  it,  and  keep- 
ing it  from  the  dust  and  moisture,  as  experience  has 
demonstrated  this  to  be  necessary  to  effect  your  ob- 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  27 

ject.  Now  wh  is  it  that  man,  with  his  boasted  rea- 
soning faculties,  does  not  apply  the  same  principles  to 
himself?  If  fortunately  he  has  inherited  from  his 
parents  a  sound  and  vigorous  constitution,  in  the  full- 
ness of  health  he  foolishly  thinks  that  there  is  no  end 
to  his  strength  and  vigor,  and  often  abuses  his  organs 
by  every  species  of  excess,  and  when  at  last  overtaken 
by  disease,  and  the  grave  yawns  to  receive  its  unwil- 
ling victim,  he  sees  the  folly  of  his  ways  when  too  late, 
and  dying,  shrieks  —  "  millions  for  a  single  moment  of 
life."  (Great  sensation.)  How  often  I  have  met  the 
miserable  victims  of  consumption  or  incurable  disease, 
who  were  born  with  vigorous  constitutions,  but  who, 
for  a  series  of  years,  had  violated  every  law  of  health, 
to  get  gold,  or  to  stimulate  their  unnatural  appetites 
and  passions,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  and  a  counten- 
ance marked  with  the  lines  of  despair,  inquiring  if 
there  was  really  no  hope  of  relief,  no  possibility  of 
escape  from  the* impending  penalty  as  a  punishment 
for  the  disobedience  of  the  organic  laws  of  the  human 
constitution,  that  they  had  so  long  set  at  defiance.  If 
it  shall  ever,  in  the  process  of  time,  be  the  fate  of  any 
of  those  who  are  now  within  the  sound  of  my  voice, 
to  be  placed  in  similar  circumstances,  they  will  then 
realize  the  force  and  truth  of  the  old  aphorism,  that 
"an  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound  of  cure!" 
Physiological  information  is  the  most  important  to 
those  who  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health,  for 
the  prevention  of  disease.  When  the  system  has  been 
underTiined  and  prostrated  by  various  excesses,  it  is 
often  too  late  to  apply  the  proper  remedy  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  life.  Thousands  inconsiderately  "  wait  until 


28  LECTUKES   ON  THE 

the  horse  is  stolen,  before  they  think  of  locking  the 
stable!" 

A  knowledge  of,  and  obedience  to  the  natural  laws  of 
the  human  constitution,  is  also  indispensable  to  the 
promotion  of  health  and  happiness,  which  are  so  in- 
timately associated  with  each  other.  Do  you  labor 
under  the  influence  of  any  disease,  as  for  instance  a 
felon  upon  your  finger  ] — how  utterly  impossible  it  is 
for  you  to  enjoy  yourself  during  its  continuance ! 
Does  the  young  lady  experience  the  pains  of  toothache  ? 
— how  nervous,  irritable,  and  unhappy  she  becomes ! 
Health  is  indeed  the  greatest  of  all  earthly  blessings. 
It  is  indispensable  for  almost  every  form  of  usefulness  ! 
"  Strike  out  health  from  the  list  of  regal  prerogatives, 
and  the  imperial  diadem  becomes  a  crown  of  thorns ! 
Without  health,  the  armorial  bearings  and  those  glit- 
tering symbols  of  ancestral  pride,  and  pomp,  and  noble 
birth,  grow  insipid,  nay  hateful  to  the  eye  of  the  pos- 
sessor, as  laughing  in  mockery  at  human  suffering  and 
pointing  to  the  grave  as  the  only  certain  refuge  from 
human  woes — the  only  asylum  which  opens  its  gates 
indiscriminately  to  the  relief  of  the  high  and  the  low  " 

Without  health,  riches  cannot  procure  ease,  much 
less  happiness.  It  would  have  been  a  cruel  dispensa- 
tion of  Providence,  if  gold  had  been  permitted  to  pur- 
chase that  which  is  the  poor  man's  chief  wealth,  and 
the  want  of  which  reduces  the  affluent  to  worse  than 
indigence.  The  bed  of  sickness  is  indeed  the  greatest 
of  all  levelers,  on  this  side  the  grave.  Can  the  em- 
broidered pillow,  or  the  purple  canopy,  still  the  fierce 
throbbings  of  the  fevered  brain,  or  arrest  the  dire  tor- 
tures of  lacerating  gout  and  rheumatism  ?  Can  fame 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  29 

defy  the  stings  of  sickness  1  No,  the  plaudits  of  the 
multitude  can  no  more  assuage  the  tortures  of  pain, 
than  can  "  flattery  soothe  the  dull,  cold  ear  of  death." 
The  renown  of  a  thousand  victories  could  not  diffuse 
an  anodyne  influence  over  the  pillow  of  Napoleon. 
The  laurels  of  Marengo  could  not  defend  him  from  the 
depressing  influence  of  a  Saint  Helena. 

Can  power,  the  darling  object  of  ambitious  minds, 
neutralize  the  stings  of  pain  and  compensate  for  the 
loss  of  health  I  No,  indeed !  A  motion  of  that  magic 
wand,  the  scepter,  can  cause  joy  or  sorrow,  sickness  or 
health  in  the  subject ;  but  neither  the  diadem  nor  the 
purple  can  lull  the  aching  head,  or  quiet  the  palpita- 
ting heart  of  the  prince. 

Is  beauty  inaccessable  to  sickness  1  Of  all  the  gifts 
which  Heaven  can  bestow,  "  the  fortune  of  a  face  "  is 
the  most  doubtful  in  value.  It  is  a  mark  at  which 
every  malignant  star  directs  its  hostile  influence — a 
light  that  leads  both  its  bearer  and  its  followers  upon 
rocks  and  quicksands  oftener  than  into  the  haven  of 
repose.  Between  beauty  and  disease  there  is  a  perpet- 
ual warfare.  They  cannot  coexist  for  any  length  of 
time,  and  the  latter  is  sure  to  be  the  victor  in  the  pro- 
tracted contest." 

Disease  also  impairs  man's  usefulness.  Health  is 
often  the  poor  man's  only  capital,  upon  which  he  must 
depend  for  his  daily  support.  What  a  difference,  then, 
there  is  in  the  prospects  of  the  strong  and  vigorous  young 
man,  and  the  poor,  miserable  invalid  ?  The  one  looks 
forward  to  the  future  with  high  hopes  and  fond  antici- 
pations of  success  in  life,  while  the  other  is  conscious 
of  the  exhausting  influence  of  disease,  and  at  most 


30  LECTURES   ON   THE 

'•'*£*• 

can  only  hope  to  linger  out  a  miserable  existence  and 
at  last  sink  into  a  premature  grave !  How  important 
it  is,  then,  that  a  knowledge  of  the  human  system  and 
the  means  of  preserving  health  should  be  taught  in  all 
of  our  common  schools — that  it  should  be  made  the 
basis  of  the  education  of  the  rising  generation.  It  is 
the  duty  of  every  human  being  to  preserve  the  health 
of  his  body.  The  Creator  has  given  us  all  the 
charge  of  our  constitution — we  must  minister  to  its 
wants,  control  its  powers,  and  regulate  its  action  ;  and 
hence,  it  is  our  first  duty  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
the  human  system  and  the  laws  which  govern  it,  as  the 
means  of  accomplishing  these  results,  for  before  we 
can  make  use  of  any  other  information,  we  must  first 
learn  to  live,  move  and  breathe.  But  if  we  visit  many 
of  our  schools  for  the  instruction  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion, we  shall  observe  that  many  of  the  younger  pupils 
of  the  ages  of  ten  and  twelve  years,  have  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  Geography,  and  many  of  the  kindred  exercises. 
They  can  describe  the  physical  character,  soil  and  pro- 
ductions of  the  various  parts  of  the  earth,  but  not  the 
"  nature  of  the  house  they  live  in."  They  can  tell  you 
of  the  wonderful  laws  by  which  the  planets  roll  in  cease- 
less harmony,  but  not  of  the  laws  of  their  own  consti- 
tution ! 

Again,  the  study  of  science  is  far  more  interesting 
than  the  study  of  literature.  Literature,  for  the  most 
part,  is  mainl}  descriptive  of  the  works  of  man,  while 
physical  science  deals  in  the  works  of  God ;  and  the 
difference  in  their  relative  value  is  almost  in  proportion 
to  the  difference  in  their  origin  Physical  science  ad- 
dresses itself  to  the  noble  faculties  of  causality,  and 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  31 

explains  to  us  th  natural  relations  between  cause  and 
effect,  and  thus  divests  the  human  mind  of  that  credu- 
lity and  superstition,  which  is  so  disgraceful  to  the  age 
we  live  in. 

Look  around  you  but  for  a  single  moment,  and  ob- 
serve what  foolish  notions  prevail  among  the  great 
masses  of  mankind,  as  to  the  causes  of  our  diseases  and 
misfortunes,  as  well  as  their  proper  mode  of  relief.  If 
any  one  labors  under  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  produced 
by  scrofula  or  exposure  to  cold  and  damp  air,  it  is  often 
cured  by  the  quack  doctor  with  the  very  philosophical 
remedy  of  rubbing  them  with  the  end  of  a  yellow  cat's 
tail.  If  a  child  has  the  nose  bleed,  caused  by  the  rup- 
ture of  a  very  small  blood  vessel,  he  stops  it  by  tying  a 
red  string  around  the  child's  neck  If  the  teeth  cut 
through  the  gums  with  difficulty,  they  are  softened  by 
the  use  of  a  black  string.  If  the  teeth  decay  and  ache, 
the  pain  is  arrested  by  touching  the  nerve  with  a 
splint  from  a  tree  that  has  been  struck  with  lightning. 
Has  the  child  any  disease  of  the  throat  1  he  often  cures 
it  by  giving  a  little  powder  prepared  by  roasting  a  live 
swallow.  Has  it  any  internal  fever]  he  breaks  it  by 
charms  and  spells.  Is  the  man  afflicted  with  paralysis  1 
it  may  be  cured,  they  say,  by  the  king's  touch,  or  by 
magnetic  rings,  bands  and  belts.  Does  he  labor  under 
an  attack  of  diarrhoea  or  dysentery  I  he  cures  it  by  a 
disgusting  remedy,  known  as  powdered  horse  warts. 
If  he  unfortunately  steps  upon  a  nail,  and  it  pierces 
his  foot,  he  cures  it  by  greasing  the  nail  and  laying  it 
aside  until  the  grease  dries  in.  If  his  child  is  troubled 
with  worms,  he  sends  away  for  the  quack,  who  spreads 
a  little  molasses  along  the  child's  spine,  and  when  they 


32  LECTURES   ON   THE 

come  up  to  feed  upon  it,  he  cuts  their  heads  off  by  scrap- 
ing the  back  with  an  old  dull  razor.  (Three  rounds 
of  applause.) 

But  you  will  say  that  none  but  the  most  ignorant 
could  be  duped  and  cheated  by  such  absurd  remedies 
in  the  hands  of  the  designing  empiric.  This  is  indeed 
true,  but  unfortunately  they  make  up  a  large  class  in 
the  community.  Not  many  years  since  Dr.  Chapman, 
the  distinguished  Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice 
of  Medicine  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  accosted 
Mr.  Swaim,  the  maker  of  Swaim's  Panacea,  in  the  streets 
of  Philadelphia,  asking  him  how  it  was  that  many  of 
the  most  distinguished  and  meritorious  members  of  the 
Profession  in  Philadelphia  were  starving  in  their  gar- 
rets, while  all  the  quacks  and  venders  of  patent  medi- 
cine in  the  city  were  rolling  in  wealth  and  splendor. 
Swaim  replied  to  the  Dr.  by  asking  him  another  question: 
"  How  many  of  those  whom  you  have  passed  in  the  streets 
this  morning,  in  making  your  professional  calls,  do  you 
think  know  anything  of  the  anatomy  and  physiology 
of  the  human  body  or  the  causes  of  their  diseases  ? " 
To  which  question  he  replied,  "  not  more  than  one  in  a 
hundred.  "  "  Well,"  says  Swaim,  "  you  may  doctor 
that  one,  and  I  will  doctor  the  ninety-nine  with  my  in- 
imitable panacea."  (Applause.) 

The  better  informed  portion  of  the  community,  it  is 
true,  do  not  make  use  of  these  charms,  signs  and  in- 
cantations or  disgusting  remedies,  but  the  practice  of 
taking  all  kinds  of  quack  nostrums  for  every  ache  and 
pain,  is  equally  absurd,  and  far  more  pernicious  in  its 
results.  If  the  more  intelligent  portion  of  the  com- 
munity get  an  ache  or  complaint,  produced  by  some 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  33 

excess,  instead  of  revolutionizing  their  conduct  or 
changing  their  habits,  they  look  immediately  to  the 
columns  of  the  daily  journal  for  a  sovereign  remedy. 
Here  they  will  find  long  lists  of  vegetable  pills,  uni- 
versal remedies,  cod  liver  oil,  and  sarsaparillas,  in  infi- 
nite variety,  and  certified  to  cure  all  sorts  of  complaints 
by  various  respectable  citizens,  clergymen  and  others. 
After  trying  the  various  vegetable  elixirs,  and  finding 
they  do  not  answer,  then  they  resort  to  cod  liver  oil  or 
sarsaparilla,  only  to  be  attended  with  a  renewal  of  the 
disappointment  Now  suppose  you  were  to  treat  an 
excellent  watch,  the  machinery  of  which  you  were 
entirely  unacquainted  with,  in  the  same  manner.  If 
it  did  not  keep  time,  send  out  and  get  a  bucket  of  wa- 
ter and  pour  through  it,  to  wash  the  dust  out ;  and 
afterwards  pour  into  it  a  bottle  of  oil  to  oil  it — would 
you  expect  it  to  keep  time?  Certainly  not.  How 
much  less,  then,  may  you  expect  your  own  beautiful 
organization  to  keep  time  after  drenching  it  with  pan- 
aceas, elixirs,  bitters,  and  cod  liver  oil  1  (Applause.) 
Even  the  intelligent  physician  says,  "  the  public  will 
be  doctored,  and  if  I  do  not  give  them  medicine,  some 
one  else  will."  This  is,  indeed,  unfortunately  but  too 
true  for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  society.  The 
humane  and  intelligent  physician,  who  would  retain 
public  confidence  and  be  successful  in  his  calling,  can 
scarcely  be  honest  to  the  dictates  of  conscience.  If  he 
is  not  continually  doseing  the  patient  with  various 
remedies,  the  friends  lose  their  confidence  in  his  skill. 
In  this  respect  the  mass  of  mankind  are  much  like 
the  old  Scotch  woman,  in  her  reply  to  the  physician 
who  had  given,  through  a  mistake,  an  over  cfttee  of 
3 


34  LECTURES   ON  THE 

tartar  emetic  and  killed  her  husband.  When  the  doc- 
tor called  the  next  day  to  pay  his  customary  visit,  and 
learned  that  it  was  all  over  with  his  patient,  he  ex- 
pressed his  regret,  and  the  wife,  sobbing  with  anguish, 
exclaimed :  "  Oh,  Doctor,  it  is  no  fault  of  yours  or  the 
medicine  either,  for  it  wrought  him  powerfully  to  the 
very  last!"  (Tremendous  applause.) 

A  friend  of  mine  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  one  of 
our  oldest  and  most  conscientious  physicians,  was 
sent  for  to  visit  a  gentleman's  wife  who  suffered  from 
dyspepsia  produced  by  excessive  eating  and  sedentary 
habits.  The  doctor  made  very  light  of  the  case,  telling 
her  that  she  did  not  require  much  medicine,  and  that 
she  must  eat  less  and  exercise  more,  or  take  medicine, 
be  sick,  and  probably  die.  Now  such  wholesome  truths 
were  not  pleasing  to  a  sentimental  female  suffering  from 
indigestion.  She  wished  to  be  thought  very  sick,  and 
she  immediately  sent  for  another  physician,  well  known 
in  the  same  city  for  his  quackish  propensities.  When 
he  arrived  he  examined  her  pulse,  and,  Avith  great 
gravity,  sounded  her  lungs  and  listened  to  the  pulsa- 
tions of  her  heart,  and,  after  asking  her  numerous 
questions  about  her  health,  he  shook  his  head  and 
asked  why  she  did  not  send  for  him  before,  and  declared 
that  she  labored  under  a  complication  of  diseases,  and 
that  the  case  was  one  of  the  utmost  gravity  and  de- 
manded the  most  careful  treatment.  He  thought  that 
with  great  care  and  the  use  of  some  fashionable  nos- 
trum, she  might  recover.  Of  course  he  was  employed, 
and  after  attending  the  case  with  the  utmost  assiduity 
for  six  months,  she  finally  died,  and  he  sent  in  his  bill 
for  $300,  which  the  disconsolate  husband  thought  was 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  35 

quite  reasonable,  considering  the  number  of  visits  which 
the  doctor  had  made.  The  patient  was  doubtless  killed 
by  over  medication  ! 

Many  simple  minded  people  are  easily  imposed  upon 
by  high  sounding  terms,  the  meaning  of  which  they  do 
not  understand;  but  they  suppose  that  all  of  those  who 
are  capable  of  using  them  must  necessarily  be  very 
learned.  No  one  understands  better  how  to  take  the 
advantage  of  this  weakness  than  the  empiric.  If  any 
of  his  patients  ask  him  what  is  the  cause  of  their 
complaint,  he  confounds  them  with  a  cloud  of  high 
sounding  words,  saying  that  "  the  only  true  and  legit- 
imate manner  of  accounting  for  this  rare  disease  is  the 
physiological  defects  in  the  membranous  system.  The 
obtuseness  of  the  abdominal  abdicator  causes  the  carti- 
laginous compressor  to  coagulate  into  the  diaphragm, 
and  depresses  the  duodenum  into  the  flandango.  Now  if 
the  disease  were  caused  by  the  vogation  of  the  elec- 
tricity from  the  extremities,  the  tympanum  would  also 
dissolve  into  spiritual  sinctum,  and  the  olfactory  ossifi- 
cator  would  ferment  and  become  identical  with  the 
pigmentum.  Now,  as  this  is  not  the  case,  in  order  to 
produce  your  disease,  the  spinal  rotundum  must  be 
elevated  down  to  the  spiritual  spero.  But,  as  I  said 
before,  in  order  to  produce  this  disease  the  inferior 
ligaments  must  subtend  over  the  digitorum  sufficiently 
to  disorganize  the  stericoletum."  (Rounds  of  applause.) 
That  is  what  I  call  an  explanation  as  clear  as  mud  ! 
(Applause.) 

Not  long  since  a  friend  of  mine  was  in  company 
with  one  of  these  boasting  empirics  one  evening,  when 
he  remarked  that  he  had  been  recreating  in  the  country 


36  LECTURES   ON   THE 

for  a  week  or  two,  in  order  to  recruit,  as  he  had  been 
quite  exhausted  with  the  cares  of  his  extensive  practice." 
This  friend  remarked  that  he  knew  it,  as  he  had  seen  it 
announced  in  the  papers.  "  In  what  terms,  pray1?"  said 
the  quack.  "  Oh,  I  only  saw  it  announced  in  the  pa- 
pers that  there  were  about  seventy  less  deaths  than 
usual  during  the  last  week  !  "  (Laughter  and  applause.) 
Did  the  mass  of  mankind  know  that  although  fits  of 
ache  and  pain  may  be  relieved  by  the  use  of  medicine, 
yet  that  the  reestablishment  of  health  depends  upon 
very  different  powers  and  principles,  they  would  not 
place  so  much  reliance  upon  the  efficacy  of  medicine 
and  neglect  the  natural  powers  of  the  human  constitu- 
tion as  the  means  of  curing  its  diseases. 

Even  the  physician  is  often  estimated  by  the  amount 
of  medicine  which  he  gives  to  his  patients.  A  physi- 
cian in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania  assured  me  that 
during  the  past  season  he  was  requested  to  attend  a  gen- 
tleman's daughter  suffering  from  chronic  inflammation  of 
the  stomach,  a  disease  which  requires  very  little  medi- 
cine in  its  treatment.  He  attended  her  from  time  to 
time,  and  she  finally  recovered,  and  at  the  end  of  six 
months  the  doctor  sent  in  his  bill.  The  father  refused 
to  pay  it,  saying  that  it  was  too  high,  as  he  had  given 
his  daughter  but  little  medicine.  Now  the  physician 
was  not  foolish  enough  to  quarrel  with  this  gentleman 
and  lose  his  practice,  but  received  what  he  could  get, 
and  remarked  to  me,  with  a  shrewd  expression  of  coun- 
tenance, "  I  think  that  family  will  have  to  take  some 
medicine  if  any  of  them  ever  get  sick  again !  "  He 
was  indeed  obliged  to  give  medicine  in  self  defence. 
Only  the  other  day  a  farmer  called  at  the  office  of  a 


PHILOS     .HY  OF  LIFE.  37 

country  physician  in  western  Virginia,  and  asked  for  a 
shilling's  worth  of  tartar  emetic.  The  physician  gave 
him  a  dose  of  it  in  a  small  paper.  "  What,"  says  he, 
"  you  don't  charge  12 -j  cents  for  that  much,  do  youl" 
"  Yes,"  says  the  physician,  "  that  is  a  large  dose." 
"  Oh,"  says  the  farmer,  "  give  me  a  shilling's  worth 
while  you  are  about  it.  Come  now,  do  n't  be  small." 
He  then  gave  him  half  a  drachm,  and  told  him  to  put 
it  into  a  tumbler  full  of  warm  water  and  after  it  had 
dissolved,  to  give  his  wife  a  table-spoonful  at  a  time, 
every  fifteen  minutes,  until  it  produced  the  desired  effect. 
He  did  so,  and  had  only  given  two  or  three  doses  when 
it  vomited  her  powerfully.  Now,  as  he  surveyed  the 
remainder  of  the  medicine,  he  thought  it  was  too  good 
to  be  lost,  and  as  he  felt  a  little  uneasiness  at  the  pit  of 
his  stomach,  he  swallowed  the  rest  himself,  and  nar- 
rowly escaped  with  his  life. 

Now,  notwithstanding  it  is  quite  notorious  that  doc- 
tors will  not  take  their  own  medicine,  is  it  not  really 
astonishing  that  the  great  mass  of  society  will  not  profit 
by  their  example  ]  Did  you  ever  know  a  quack  to 
take  his  own  medicine,  or  a  physician  his  own  prescrip- 
tion 1  The  influence  of  knowledge  upon  credulity  and 
superstition  is  here  seen  in  a  strong  light.  A  knowl- 
edge of  the  science  of  zoology  has  hunted  krakens, 
phenixes  and  vampires  from  the  animal  kingdom.  A 
knowledge  of  the  science  of  astronomy  has  swept  pes- 
tilential and  war-portending  comets,  and  all  the  terrors 
and  follies  of  old  astrology  from  the  skies  A  knowledge 
of  chemistry  has  made  the  notion  of  charms,  and  uni- 
versal remedies,  and  the  philosopher's  stone,  ridiculous 
and  contemptible.  And  as  a  knowledge  of  the  true 


38  LECTURES   ON   THE 

God  has  dethroned  hundreds  and  thousands  of  false 
gods  and  cast  them  into  utter  oblivion,  so  will  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  truths  of  physiology  bury  in  eternal 
night  many  of  the  foolish  notions  which  prevail  among 
the  masses  of  mankind,  as  to  the  causes  and  proper 
treatment  of  disease. 

Scientific  "truth  is  indeed  mighty,  and  it  will  pre- 
vail." a  Amidst  the  marvelous  truths  which  science 
is  yet  to  unfold,  the  wonders  of  Aladdin's  lamp  will  lose 
their  splendor  ;  and  posterity  will  look  back  upon  those 
whose  minds  could  be  satisfied  with  the  Arabian  Nights' 
Entertainments,  or  stories  of  a  fairy  land,  with  as  much 
pity  as  we  look  upon  the  savage,  whose  highest  idea  of 
regal  adornment  can  be  satisfied  with  beads  of  glass 
and  jewelry  of  tin.  The  tricks  of  the  juggler,  the 
crafts  of  the  sorcerer,  and  the  deception  of  the  empiric 
shall  die  out,  for  the  children  of  men  shall  seek  for  the 
exhilarations  of  knowledge  and  amusement  in  the  lab- 
oratory of  the  chemist  and  the  lecture  room  of  the 
philosopher,  where  nature,  inspired  by  God,  works  mir- 
acles with  fire  and  water,  with  attraction  and  repulsion, 
with  light  and  lightning,  at  once  kindling  devotion  and 
dispensing  knowledge." 


LECTURE  II, 


THE  NUTRITIVE  SYSTEM. 

TTTE  have  assembled  here  this  evening,  Ladies  and 
'  *  Gentlemen,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consid- 
eration the  nutrition,  growth  and  development  of  the 
human  body  —  to  observe  the  changes  which  our  food 
undergoes  during  the  process  of  digestion,  and  its  final 
conversion  into  the  blood  which  nourishes  all  parts  of 
the  system. 

This  subject  is  the  more  interesting  to  us  inasmuch 
as  a  large  proportion  of  almost  every  community  labor 
under  the  influence  of  some  disease  or  derangement  of 
this  system,  which  is  produced  by  causes  susceptible  of 
removal,  and  left  in  operation  only  in  consequence  of 
our  ignorance  of  ourselves.  In  infancy  we  are  required 
to  digest  a  large  amount  of  food,  for  the  purpose  of 
gradually  increasing,  perfecting  and  developing  all  parts 
of  our  bodies,  and  at  a  later  period  to  counteract  that 
wonderful  change  which  is  constantly  going  on  in  the 
human  system,  displacing  the  old  and  worn  out  atoms 
of  bone,  muscle  and  nerve,  with  new  tissues,  which  are 
developed  out  of  the  new  material  supplied  by  digestion, 
and  thus,  in  a  great  measure,  counteracting  the  tendency 


42  LECTURES   ON  THE 

to  decay  and  exhaustion  of  our  physical,  mental  and 
moral  powers. 

The  evidence  of  this  wonderful  change  of  tissues 
may  be  seen  in  different  parts  of  the  body.  If  we  ex- 
amine the  nails  upon  our  fingers  we  shall  often  observe 
small  white  spots  upon  them,  which  soon  disappear  from 
off  their  ends  as  they  grow  and  elongate.  The  scarf  skin  is 
continually  pealing  off  on  the  outside  and  forming  upon 
its  under  surface.  While  our  hairs  are  continually 
growing  at  one  end  and  wearing  off  at  the  other,  similar 
changes  are  noticed  in  the  bones  and  muscles,  and  it  is 
thus  that  the  human  system  is  continually  renewing 
itself,  and  preserving  our  mortal  bodies  unimpaired,  in 
a  comparative  state  of  vigor,  down  to  the  latest  period 
of  time  which  is  assigned  to  man ! 

In  order  that  you  may  fully  understand  the  nature 
of  the  nutritive  system,  it  will  be  necessary  for  me,  in 
the  first  place,  to  explain  to  you  the  anatomy  and  phys- 
iology of  the  apparatus  which  is  concerned  in  its  per- 
formance. 

The  digestive  apparatus  consists  of  a  long  digestive 
tube  or  canal,  some  thirty-two  feet  in  length,  and  its 
appendages,  the  teeth,  the  salivary  glands,  the  liver, 
and  the  pancreas ;  all  of  which  exert  their  appropriate 
influence  upon  the  process  of  digestion,  and  are  well 
represented  in  the  accompanying  engraving. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  cavity  of  the  nose  and 
the  cavity  of  the  mouth  unite  with  each  other  behind 
the  soft  palate.  In  this  cavity  you  will  observe  a  num- 
ber of  bones,  which  form  beautiful  scrolls  or  shelves 
on  each  side,  upon  which  the  nerves  concerned  in  the 
production  of  the  sense  of  smell  are  distributed. 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  43 

Through  an  opening  behind  these  curved  bones  the 
tears  empty  into  the  cavity  of  the  nose.  These  numer- 
ous partitions  in  the  cavity  of  the  nose  have  been 
constructed  for  the  purpose  of  affording  the  greatest 
surface  in  the  smallest  compass  for  the  distribution  of 
the  greatest  number  of  olfactory  nerves,  concerned  in 
the  production  of  the  sense  of  smell.  These  nerves, 
which  are  distributed  in  such  large  numbers  upon  the 
lining  of  this  organ,  are  only  useful  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  us  to  judge  of  the  odoriferous  qualities  of 
various  objects  with  which  we  are  brought  in  contact. 
They  cannot  receive  and  convey  to  the  human  brain  or 
sensorium  any  impression,  productive  of  the  sense  of 
sight,  hearing,  taste  or  tact,  and  touch. 

Numerous  small  hairs  protrude  from  the  lining  sur- 
face of  this  membrane,  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  the 
earthy  particles  which  float  in  the  atmospheric  air,  and 
preventing  them  from  penetrating  through  the  air-tubes 
into  the  lungs  and  thus  producing  disease.  Many 
persons,  in  different  parts  of  this  country,  seem  entirely 
to  have  mistaken  the  nature  and  use  of  so  important 
an  organ  as  the  nose,  and  have  turned  it  into  a  kind  of 
dust-hole,  for  the  use  of  the  tobacconist,  and  often  fill 
its  cavity  so  full  of  snuff  that  it  is  impossible  for  them 
to  breathe  through  it,  and  are  consequently  compelled 
to  breathe  through  their  mouth.  The  snuff-taker, 
with  his  nose  full  of  snuff,  may  be  seen  in  almost 
every  community,  with  his  mouth  half  open,  and  his 
tongue  a  little  protruded,  to  enable  him  to  breathe 
through  it,  like  a  turkey  in  the  month  of  August. 
(Applause.) 

Not  long  since  1  was  requested  to  visit  a  lady,  in 


44  LECTURES   ON  THE 

the  city  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  not  spoken  distinctly 
for  the  last  thirty  years,  for  the  purpose  of  removing 
what  was  supposed  by  her  friends  to  be  a  polypus 
from  the  nose.  Upon  examination  I  detected  the  na- 
ture of  the  difficulty,  and,  with  a  small  salir spoon, 
speedily  removed  from  the  nasal  cavity  about  a  wine- 
glass full  of  yellow  matter,  composed  of  snuff  and  the 
secretions  of  the  nose,  which  had  been  accumulating 
for  the  last  thirty  years.  (Sensation.)  It  was  no 
wonder  that  her  nose  "  felt  stopped  up  "  and  she  could 
not  speak  plain.  When  this  lady  saw  the  amount  of 
material  which  had  been  removed,  she  raised  her  hands 
in  astonishment  and  exclaimed,  "  Doctor,  if  you  tell 
any  of  my  friends  what  you  removed  from  my  nose,  I 
will  never  forgive  you  as  long  as  I  live."  (Continued 
applause.) 

Sometimes  when  the  snuff  accumulates  in  this  way, 
it  produces  an  unpleasant  fullness  far  back  in  the 
nares,  accompanied  with  coughing  and  sneezing  for  the 
purpose  of  removing  it.  At  such  times  considerable 
quantities  are  detached  from  the  posterior  nares  and 
tumble  back  into  the  meat  pipe,  and  are  swallowed 
into  the  stomach,  destroying  its  functions.  (Great 
applause.) 

You  will  observe,  far  back  in  the  posterior  nares,  the 
mouth  of  a  tube  about  the  size  of  a  goose-quill,  which 
extends  to  the  cavity  of  the  ear,  for  the  purpose  of 
conveying  to  the  inner  cavity  of  this  organ  atmospheric 
air.  If  this  is  closed  up  during  inflammation  of  the 
throat,  it  induces  partial  or  total  deafness.  This  is  the 
reason  why  we  hear  with  difficulty  when  laboring  un- 
der the  influence  of  a  common  cold,  when  accompanied 


PHILOSOPHY  OP  LIFE.  45 

with  swelling  of  the  throat.  Sometimes  in  scarlet 
fever,  the  disease  of  the  throat  extends  along  the  lining 
surface  of  this  tube  to  the  cavity  of  the  tympanum, 
occasioning  offensive  discharges  from  the  ear.  If  the 
ulceration  causing  these  discharges  is  not  arrested  by 
the  use  of  appropriate  remedies,  it  will  often  cause  total 
or  partial  deafness  as  the  young  child  advances  in  life. 

In  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  we  find  the  teeth,  thirty- 
two  in  number,  which  are  so  useful  for  the  purpose  of 
comminuting  or  reducing  our  food  to  the  finest  consis- 
tence, and  rendering  it  fit  to  be  swallowed  into  the 
stomach.  These  useful  organs  are  the  only  portions 
of  the  bony  system  which  are  brought  in  contact  with 
foreign  substances,  and  for  the  purpose  of  protecting 
them  from  the  injurious  influence  of  the  atmospheric 
air,  or  the  friction  resulting  from  chewing,  they  have 
been  surrounded  with  a  dense  coating  known  as  the 
enamel.  If  this  coating  is  fractured  by  being  brought 
in  contact  with  very  warm  or  cold  substances,  which 
suddenly  expand  or  contract  it,  and  the  air  is  allowed 
to  come  in  contact  with  the  ivory  or  bone  beneath,  it 
immediately  takes  on  the  process  of  decay,  which  can 
only  be  arrested  by  covering  it  with  gold  leaf  or  other 
dense  material,  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  the  atmos- 
pheric air. 

If  you  value  good  teeth  and  would  preserve  them, 
you  must  be  careful  and  never  bring  in  contact  with 
them  any  very  warm  or  cold  food.  The  practice  of 
sipping  hot  tea  and  coffee,  or  eating  hot  breads  and 
meat  cannot  be  too  severely  condemned,  inasmuch  as 
it  invariably  destroys  the  teeth  in  a  short  time.  All 
savages  that  drink  from  the  bubbling  fountain  and  sub- 


46  LECTUKES   ON   THE 

sist  upon  the  simplest  fare,  have  excellent  teeth  even 
when  advanced  in  life.  Such  is  the  condition  of  the 
African,  and  the  slave  upon  our  southern  plantations ; 
but  when  indulging  in  similar  habits  to  the  white  races, 
they  soon  lose  their  teeth.  The  cow  and  other  domestic 
animals,  when  feeding  upon  the  blades  of  grass  which 
they  crop  from  the  hill-side,  preserve  their  teeth  for  a 
long  series  of  years,  but  when  fed  with  warm  food  in 
fashionable  life,  in  our  large  towns  and  cities,  soon  find 
them  dropping  out.  This  natural  law  which  seems  so 
plain,  in  reference  to  the  teeth,  is  generally  neglected 
by  the  great  mass  of  fashionable  society,  and  with  what 
fearful  consequences,  may  be  seen  by  examining  almost 
any  young  lady's  mouth. 

"What  pity,  blooming  girl, 

That  lips  so  tempting  to  the  lover 

Should  not,  beneath  their  ruby  casket,  cover 

One  tooth  of  pearl;  but  like  the  rose 

Beside  the  church-yard  stone, 

Be  doomed  to  blossom,  over  many  a  mouldering  bone." 

The  tongue,  which  is  situated  in  the  mouth,  is  com- 
posed of  a  number  of  muscles  running  in  different 
directions,  and  covered  with  a  soft  and  delicate  mucous 
membrane,  which  is  continuous  with  the  whole  of  the 
intestinal  canal.  This  organ,  as  will  be  observed,  is 
far  larger  than  is  generally  supposed,  which  accounts 
for  the  well  known  fact  that  it  is  not  easily  fatigued, 
but  in  some  persons,  moves  like  a  kind  of  perpetual 
motion,  and  is  indeed  "  an  unruly  member."  It  is  said 
to  be  especially  useful  to  the  female,  although  I  have 
not  noticed  any  increased  development  of  this  organ 
in  the  opposite  sex.  (Applause.) 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  47 

Near  the  base  of  the  tongue,  and  on  either  side,  be- 
tween the  two  curtains  or  folds  of  the  soft  palate,  you 
will  notice  two  small  bodies  known  as  the  tonsils, 
which  sometimes  become  enlarged,  rendering  it  neces- 
sary that  they  should  be  excised  and  removed,  to  ena- 
ble the  person  so  affected  to  read  and  speak  distinctly. 
The  operation  is  exceedingly  simple  and  is  not  attend- 
ed with  any  danger. 

Beneath  the  skin,  on  either  side  of  the  face,  in  front 
and  below  the  ears,  you  will  notice  important  glands 
or  bodies  which  secrete  the  saliva  or  spittle,  which  is 
carried  into  the  mouth  through  two  tubes  beneath  the 
skin  on  each  side  of  the  face.  Other  bodies  of  a  simi- 
lar character  will  be  observed  beneath  the  angle  of  the 
lower  jaw  and  the  tongue.  These  glands  secrete  from 
fourteen  to  sixteen  ounces  of  spittle,  and  empty  it  into 
the  mouth  during  an  ordinary  repast,  which  softens 
the  food  and  renders  it  fit  to  be  swallowed  into  the 
stomach. 

The  meat  pipe,  or  gullet,  is  a  long,  cylindrical  and 
elastic  tube,  which  commences  at  the  base  of  the 
tongue,  and  passes  down  behind  the  windpipe  and  ter- 
minates in  the  stomach.  It  is  composed  of  numerous 
elastic,  muscular  fibres,  which  run  in  different  direc- 
tions, enabling  it  to  be  distended  and  contracted  with 
the  most  extraordinary  facility — and  down  whose  dark 
and  narrow  channel,  scores  of  fat  oxen,  sheep,  fish, 
and  fowls,  cart  loads  of  bread,  and  potatoes,  and  veg- 
etables, tons  of  beer,  puncheons  of  brandy,  barrels  of 
tea  and  coffee,  and  rivers  of  water,  are  continually 
rushing  to  that  abyss  from  which  they  shall  never  re- 
turn. (Applause.) 


48  LECTURES   ON  THE 

The  amount  of  food  and  drink  introduced  into  the 
human  system  through  this  canal,  would,  if  gathered 
together,  exceed  the  bounds  of  human  credibility,  and 
overwhelm  us  with  amazement !  If  a  human  being 
should  live  to  attain  the  age  of  threescore  and  ten, 
and  should  eat  two  pounds  of  beef,  only  a  moderate 
dinner  for  a  gourmand^  he  would  consume  over  fifty 
oxen  of  a  thousand  pounds  each ;  and  if  he  were  to 
eat  at  the  same  time,  at  least  thirty-six  ounces  of  dry 
vegetable  matter,  he  would  consume  nearly  sixty  cart 
loads  of  a  thousand  pounds  each.  If  he  were  to  drink 
six  glasses  of  ale,  three  glasses  of  brandy  and  six  cups 
of  tea  and  coffee,  he  would  require  one  hundred  and 
fifty  hogsheads  of  ale,  twenty  hogsheads  of  brandy 
and  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  hogsheads 
of  tea  and  coffee,  besides  cold  water  enough  to  float  a 
frigate.  (Great  sensation.) 

The  meat  pipe  or  gullet  terminates  in  the  stomach, 
which  is  the  great  central  organ  concerned  in  digestion. 
It  is  situated  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  abdominal 
cavity  and  immediately  beneath  the  lower  ribs  of  the 
left  side,  the  greater  portion  of  it  being  situated  to  the 
left  of  that  point  known  as  the  "  pit  of  the  stomach." 
It  is  composed  of  three  principal  coats,  and  will  hold 
about  three  pints  at  a  time,  upon  an  average,  and  is 
capable  of  being  distended  indefinitely  by  indulging  in 
excess  in  eating  and  drinking. 

Indeed,  were  we  to  visit  any  of  the  well  stocked 
grocery  stores  along  Market  street,  and  observe  the  va- 
riety of  materials  drawn  from  the  animal  and  vegetable 
kingdoms  to  pamper  the  appetite  of  man — especially 
in  highly  civilized  life — we  should  be  lost  and  bewil- 


PHILOSOPHY  OP  LIFE.  49 

dered  with  amazement !  A  single  glance  around  these 
shelves,  groaning  beneath  the  productions  of  every 
clime,  must  compel  us  to  admit  that  the  powers  and 
capacity  of  the  human  stomach  are  immense !  These 
pickles  and  preserves ;  these  spices  and  condiments ; 
these  Scandinavian  tongues  and  Westphalian  hams, 
and  above  all,  these  sausages  of  Bologna  and  Ger- 
many, are  alone  enough  to  poison  the  vulture,  the 
shark,  and  the  jackal,  and  if  they  did  not  kill  directly 
these  natural  gourmands,  they  would  most  assuredly 
people  the  air,  the  ocean,  and  the  wild  woods  with  as 
exquisite  dyspeptics,  or  perhaps  hypochondriacs,  as 
ever  paced  Broadway,  or  ever  made  the  grand  tour  of 
our  fashionable  watering  places,  under  the  delightful 
influence  of  that  fashionable  disease  known  as  the 
"  blue  devils.1'  (Applause.) 

The  outside  coat  of  the  stomach  is  a  serous  mem- 
brane, and  is  reflected  over  the  exterior  surface  of  the 
whole  of  the  intestinal  canal.  It  secretes  a  small 
quantity  of  serum  which  lubricates  the  outside  of  the 
bowels  and  prevents  them  from  being  injured.  Some- 
times this  membrane  takes  on  diseased  action  and 
secretes  large  quantities  of  this  fluid,  producing  dropsy 
of  the  abdomen. 

The  middle  coat  of  the  stomach  is  composed  of  three 
strong  bands  or  strips  of  muscular  fibres,  which  pass 
around  the  stomach  in  different  directions,  some  from 
one  end  to  the  other,  others  are  distributed  around  it 
in  a  circular  manner,  while  others  again  pass  obliquely 
from  side  to  side.  These  bands  of  muscular  fibres, 
which  cross  each  other  in  this  manner  like  a  net-work, 
are  enabled  to  contract  during  digestion,  so  as  to  cause 
4 


50  LECTURES   ON   THE 

the  walls  of  the  stomach  to  be  brought  in  close  con- 
tact with  the  food  which  it  contains.  By  contracting 
alternately  at  one  end  of  the  organ,  and  then  at  the 
other,  the  food  is  forced  from  one  end  of  the  stomach 
to  the  other  once  in  about  two  minutes  and  a  half. 
Immediately  beneath  the  lining  membrane  of  the  stom- 
ach, you  will  observe  numerous  minute  follicles,  which 
secrete  considerable  quantities  of  gastric  fluid,  which 
is  slightly  saltish  and  sour  to  the  sense  of  taste,  and 
is  known  as  the  rennet  in  the  inferior  animals.  It  is 
this  fluid  which  possesses  the  most  remarkable  solvent 
powers  in  the  inferior  animals,  being  capable,  in  some 
instances,  as  in  the  ostrich,  of  dissolving  pebble  stones, 
nails,  buttons,  &c. ;  and  in  man,  bone,  gristle,  and  the 
hardest  animal  and  vegetable  substances.  If  a  small 
quantity  of  this  wonderful  fluid  is  mixed  with  a  little 
water,  dropped  into  milk,  it  soon  curdles,  and  then 
digests  it.  Liebig,  and  other  distinguished  chemists, 
have  proposed  to  prepare  a  fluid  from  the  stomach  of 
the  ox  similar  to  the  rennet  diluted  in  wine  and  used 
for  culinary  purposes,  to  be  used  in  dyspepsia,  and 
various  forms  of  difficult  digestion.  In  the  small 
end,  or  pyloric  extremity,  the  mucous  membrane  forms 
a  circular  fold,  like  the  ribbon  in  the  mouth  of  the  ladies' 
work  bag,  which  closes  the  stomach  during  digestion, 
and  prevents  the  crude  food  from  passing  out  into  the 
small  intestine,  before  it  is  dissolved  or  digested.  This 
pyloric  valve  is  a  kind  of  sentinel  that  watches  the  pro- 
cess of  digestion,  and  opens  and  allows  the  food  to  pass 
into  the  small  intestine,  as  soon  as  it  is  reduced  to  the 
thickness  and  consistency  of  flour  paste  If  we  eat 
anything  that  is  difficult  of  digestion,  as,  for  instance, 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  51 

a  piece  of  dried  apple,  it  may  remain  in  the  stomach 
for  twenty- four  hours  without  being  dissolved ;  and 
still  this  faithful  guard  or  sentinel  will  not  allow  it  to 
go  down  into  the  small  intestine.  Children  have  often 
been  known  to  retain  in  their  stomachs  small  pieces  of 
orange  peel,  raisins,  and  other  dried  fruit,  for  eight  or 
nine  days,  producing  much  pain,  and  frequently  con- 
vulsions ;  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  vomit  them  up 
as  fresh  as  they  were  when  first  taken  into  the  stom- 
ach, or  death  relieves  them  from  their  sufferings  ! 

The  next  portion  of  the  intestinal  canal  is  called  the 
duodenum,  or  second  stomach.  It  is  about  twelve 
inches  in  length,  and  is  chiefly  interesting  to  us  as 
being  that  part  of  the  digestive  system  which  receives 
the  bile.  It  extends  from  the  pyloric  valve  down  be- 
neath the  liver,  and  terminates  in  the  small  intestine 
in  the  centre  of  the  abdominal  cavity.  The  liver  is 
the  largest  gland  in  the  human  body,  and  is  situated 
beneath  the  ribs  of  the  right  side,  opposite  the  stom- 
ach. It  is  constantly  engaged  in  secreting  an  alkaline 
principle  from  the  blood,  known  as  the  bile,  which  is 
collected  by  means  of  numerous  tubes,  and  emptied 
into  the  gall  bladder,  where  it  is  retained  until  such 
times  as  it  may  be  required  to  facilitate  the  process  of 
digestion.  The  biliary  tube,  which  runs  from  the 
gall-bladder  to  the  intestinal  canal,  does  not  empty 
into  the  stomach,  as  many  persons  suppose,  but  into 
the  duodenum,  six  or  seven  inches  below  the  opening 
of  the  pyloric  valve.  If  this  simple  truth  were  general- 
ly known,  what  an  influence  it  would  have  upon  the 
price  of  tartar  emetic !  (Applause.)  How  many  thou- 
sands of  poor  unfortunate  invalids  have  had  to 


52  LECTURES   ON   THE 

for  want  of  a  little  information.  Not  much  more  than 
one-half  of  our  old  routine  physicians  themselves  know 
whether  the  bile  is  poured  into  the  stomach  or  small 
intestine ;  and  when  their  patients  eat  and  drink  too 
much,  they  puke  them,  and  tell  them  that  their  stomach 
is  bilious.  (Great  applause.)  Such  physicians  are 
generally  afraid  the  people  will  learn  too  much  from 
listening  to  my  lectures,  and  examining  my  models  ; 
but  I  think  there  is  more  danger  of  their  learning 
something  else  —  how  much  such  physicians  know 
themselves.  (Shouts  of  applause.) 

No  bile  can  be  introduced  into  the  stomach  unless 
the  natural  action  of  the  intestinal  canal  becomes 
inverted,  and  its  contents  pass  upwards  into  the  stom- 
ach, instead  of  downwards  into  the  small  intestine  ; 
and  consequently  not  one  emetic  is  now  given  by  the 
intelligent  physician  for  this  purpose,  where  fifty  were 
given  only  twenty  years  ago !  If  the  stomach  has  been 
overtaxed  by  excesses,  instead  of  an  emetic,  low  diet 
and  rest  are  enjoined,  with  the  most  decided  success. 

When  the  food  has  been  thoroughly  digested  in  the 
stomach,  and  reduced  to  the  finest  consistence,  the  py- 
loric  valve  opens,  and  it  passes  into  the  duodenum, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  gall-bladder,  being  stimulated 
to  action  by  its  presence,  empties  its  contents  into  the 
small  intestine,  where  it  unites  with  the  digested  food, 
and  immediately  separates  it  into  two  principal  parts. 
The  nutritious  fluid  is  of  a  creamy  consistency  and 
color,  and  floats  on  the  upper  surface,  while  the  excre- 
mentitious  matter  sinks  beneath  it.  As  soon  as  this 
precipitation  takes  place,  these  two  principles  pass  for- 
ward into  the  small  intestine,  where  the  chyle,  or  nu- 
tritious principle,  is  absorbed.  The  nutritious  portions 


PHILOSOPHY   OP   LIFE.  63 

of  our  food  are  not  absorbed,  as  many  suppose,  by  the 
small  veins  of  the  intestine,  but  by  a  special  system  of 
lacteal  vessels,  which  arise  in  large  numbers  in  the 
mlli,  or  small  conical  elevations  upon  the  lining  sur- 
face of  the  small  intestine,  and  after  forming  nume- 
rous unions  with  each  other,  finally  terminate  in  a 
long  membranous  sac,  situated  on  the  anterior  surface 
of  the  spinal  column,  and  which  communicates  with 
the  large  jugular  vein  in  the  neck  by  means  of  a  long 
cylindrical  tube  about  the  size  of  a  goose  quill,  called 
the  thoracic  duct.  This  portion  of  the  small  intestine, 
where  the  nourishment  of  the  food  is  absorbed  by  the 
lacteals,  is  about  twenty-five  feet  in  length,  and  its  in- 
ner surface  is  thrown  into  numerous  folds,  rendering 
it  more  than  five  times  as  long  as  the  outside,  so  as  to 
afford  the  greatest  possible  surface  in  the  smallest 
space,  for  nutritive  absorption  to  take  place.  If  it 
were  not  for  this  beautiful  mechanical  arrangement,  the 
lacteals  would  not  be  capable  of  absorbing  more  than 
one-fifth  of  the  nourishment  of  our  food,  and  there 
would  be  great  want  of  economy  in  the  expenditure 
of  material  for  the  nutrition  of  the  human  body.  The 
all-wise  and  benevolent  Creator  foresaw  all  this,  and 
has  most  beautifully  adapted  this  mechanical  means  to 
ends,  so  as  to  secure  the  nutrition  and  development  of 
the  human  body,  with  the  smallest  possible  expenditure 
and  loss  of  material.  Indeed,  if  it  were  not  for  this 
most  curious  mechanical  contrivance,  we  should  be 
compelled  to  eat  all  the  time  in  order  to  get  enough, 
and  the  gourmand  must  certainly  die  of  starvation. 
(A  laugh.) 

When  the  digestive  system  is  in  a  healthy  state,  the 


54        .  LECTURES    ON   THE 

chyle  or  nourishment  which  is  absorbed  by  the  lacte- 
als,  is  about  the  color  and  consistency  of  cream.  It 
is  transmitted  along  the  thoracic  duct,  which  passes 
up  behind  the  heart,  and  finally  empties  into  the  large 
vein  in  the  neck,  just  at  its  junction  with  the  jugular 
vein.  The  chyle  is  here  mixed  with  the  dark,  impure 
or  venous  blood,  and  is  transmitted  by  the  heart  to  the 
lungs,  where  it  is  cleared,  purified,  and  colored  a  bright 
red  or  scarlet  color,  and  afterwards  distributed  through 
the  numerous  arteries  to  all  of  the  different  parts  of 
the  human  body.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  nour- 
ishment of  our  food  is  finally  converted  into  blood  in 
the  lungs.  It  here  has  breathed  into  it  the  breath  of 
life,  which  renders  it  a  vital,  living  fluid,  capable  of 
nourishing  all  parts  of  our  bodies ! 

The  remainder  of  the  food,  after  the  absorption  of 
its  nourishment,  passes  into  the  large  intestine,  called 
the  colon,  and  is  finally  thrown  out  of  the  system. 

Having  thus  rapidly  examined  the  structure  and 
functions  of  the  apparatus  concerned  in  the  digestion 
of  our  food,  it  remains  still  further  for  us  to  investiate 
the  laws  which  regulate  its  action,  in  order  that  we  may 
understand  and  obey  them.  It  has  been  often  said 
that  "  knowledge  is  power,"  but  it  is  only  truly  so  just 
in  proportion  as  we  are  capable  of  applying  our  infor- 
mation to  some  useful  purpose ;  such,  for  instance,  as 
the  improvement  of  the  moral,  physical  and  intellec- 
tual condition  of  mankind.  That  knowledge  is  the 
most  useful  which  contributes  most  to  the  promotion  of 
our  welfare  and  happiness  !  What,  then,  are  the  laws 
or  conditions  upon  which  the  healthy  action  of  this 
system  depends  1 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    LIFE.  55 

1st.  It  is  a  natural  law,  that  the  wants  of  the  system 
limit  the  powers  of  digestion. 

The  gastric  follicles  secrete  only  enough  fluid  to 
digest  what  food  the  human  system  requires,  and  if  a 
larger  quantity  is  eaten,  it  will  remain  in  the  stomach 
until  such  time  as  it  may  be  required  in  the  animal 
economy  to  sustain  its  vital  action.  It  becomes,  then, 
a  matter  of  great  importance  for  us  to  ascertain,  if 
possible,  what  circumstances  determine  the  wants  of 
the  system  ;  since  by  obeying  them,  we  shall  in  a  great 
measure  secure  exemption  from  many  of  the  pains  and 
sufferings  of  dyspepsia — that  disease  which  is  the  bane 
and  misery  of  countless  millions  !  Many  observations 
and  experiments  have  recently  been  made  by  the  Brit- 
ish army  and  navy  surgeons,  with  a  view  of  determin- 
ing, if  possible,  the  amount  of  food  required  by  man, 
in  order  to  secure  the  highest  state  of  physical,  moral 
and  mental  perfection  in  these  branches  of  the  British 
service.  From  numerous  carefully  conducted  experi- 
ments, it  has  been  concluded  that  man,  while  in  active 
service  or  labor,  requires  about  thirty-five  ounces  of 
dry  animal  and  vegetable  food  each  day,  in  order  to 
attain  his  greatest  efficiency.  Of  this  amount,  ten 
ounces  should  be  animal,  and  about  twenty-five  ounces 
of  vegetable  matter,  consisting  of  peas,  beans,  flour, 
&c.  The  introduction  of  this  diet  scale  into  the  Brit- 
ish army  and  navy,  is  said  to  be  attended  with  the 
most  remarkable  success  in  diminishing  the  numbers 
upon  the  sick  list. 

The  training  of  men  for  pugilistic  encounters,  gladia- 
torial contests,  and  for  the  display  of  great  feats  of 
physical  strength,  shows  that  our  ordinary  diet  scale 


56  LECTURES   ON  THE 

may  be  reduced  with  great  advantage  on  the  score 
of  strength.  Indeed,  were  it  true  that  strength  de- 
pended upon  the  amount  of  food  consumed,  then  the 
vulture  would  be  stronger  than  the  eagle,  the  jackal 
than  the  lion,  and  the  gourmand  than  the  temperate 
and  abstemious.  Gluttony  is  synonymous  with  idle- 
ness, indolence  and  stupidity !  When  the  vulture,  the 
jackal  and  their  scarcely  less  human  brother,  the  ine- 
briate and  debauchee,  have  engorged  themselves,  their 
whole  vital  energies  are,  at  least  for  a  time,  expended 
in  the  digestion  of  their  food.  The  vulture  seeks  his 
mountain  lair,  the  jackal  his  den,  and  the  epicure, 
drunk  with  wine,  and  stupid  with  feasting,  seeks  his 
softly  cushioned  arm-chair,  where,  overcome  with  the 
lethargy  of  sleep,  he  expends  his  immortal,  mental 
powers  and  sacred  affections  in  stupid  and  inglori- 
ous repose.  Such  persons  live  only  in  order  that  they 
may  eat — and  not  eat  in  order  that  they  may  live,  and 
attain  the  highest  objects  of  life.  Their  chief  end  is 
to  "  glorify  their  stomach  and  enjoy  it."  Would  you 
appeal  to  the  conscience  of  such  a  person  I — you  must 
appeal  to  their  stomachs  and  not  to  their  brains.  (Ap- 
plause.) And  would  you  understand  the  means  of 
making  the  most  eloquent  and  successful  appeal  1 — you 
will  find  them  in  sparkling  champagne,  turtle  soup, 
and  lobster  salad.  (Laughter  and  applause.)  Few 
legislators  can  withstand  so  righteous  a  petition,  or 
such  a  moving  appeal  to  their  consciences.  If  you 
wish  a  bank  chartered,  or  a  divorce  for  convenience, 
ply  the  members  well  with  champagne  and  hot  sup- 
pers :  these  are  the  most  persuasive  arguments  to 
persons  of  such  habits. 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  57 

Nor  are  the  members  of  many  of  our  Christian 
churches  less  susceptible  to  such  influences.  Visit,  if 
you  please,  with  me,  the  village  church,  on  a  pleasant 
Sabbath  afternoon — observe  the  listening  positions  and 
attentive  aspect  of  the  audience.  What  are  so  many 
of  the  members  doing  with  their  eyes  shut,  and  their 
mouths  wide  open  I — swallowing  the  sermon  ?  No ;  but 
digesting  the  cold  turkey,  roast  beef  and  plumb  pud- 
ding that  they  have  eaten  for  dinner.  (Applause.)  I 
have  often  thought  that  ministers  addressing  such  an 
audience  were  much  like  Napoleon  in  his  efforts  to  re- 
duce a  huge  mud  fortress,  which  he  encountered  in 
Egypt.  If  it  had  been  constructed  of  stone,  he  could 
have  battered  it  down  with  his  cannon ;  and  if  it  had 
been  made  of  wood,  he  could  have  burnt  it  with  his 
red-hot  shot ;  but  there  it  stood  before  him  a  great 
impassive  mound  of  earth  in  which  the  balls  of  his 
cannon  were  buried  at  every  discharge,  without  pro- 
ducing the  least  influence  upon  its  garrison !  It  is 
easy  for  the  preacher  to  address  feeling  and  mind  with 
argument,  but  far  more  difficult  to  convince  cold  tur- 
key and  gristle  with  most  persuasive  eloquence  !  Not 
only  must  the  preacher  be  prepared  to  sow,  but  his 
hearers  must  be  prepared  to  receive  the  good  seed. 
(Applause.) 

It  is  frequently  supposed  by  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind, that  excessive  fatness  is  indicative  of  high  health. 
The  death  of  millions  of  young  children  may  be  traced 
to  this  fatal  mistake.  How  often  do  we  observe  moth- 
ers feed  their  dear  little  children  in  order  to  "  make 
them  grow  fast,"  or  until  they  become  so  fat  that  they 
can  scarcely  see  out  of  their  eyes;  and  when  such  a  one 


58  LECTURES    ON   THE 

becomes,  like  the  fat  ox,  a  burden  to  itself,  all  of  the 
friends  observe,  "  what  a  healthy  child ! "  and  pinch  its 
cheeks  and  tickle  its  ribs  to  make  it  laugh  Do  such  chil- 
dren generally  live  to  attain  the  age  of  manhood  ]  No 
indeed !  By  far  the  largest  majority  sicken  under  this 
stuffing  process  and  die.  The  greatest  mortality  in 
infancy  is  to  be  found  among  this  class  of  "  fat,  healthy 
children."  They  die  of  cholera  infantum,  inflamma- 
tory affections,  and  the  effusion  of  water  upon  the 
brain.  When  the  child  sickens  and  cries  out  under 
this  stuffing  process,  what  does  the  mother  do  ?  Why 
she  thinks  it  cries  because  it  is  hungry,  and  stuffs  it 
the  more ;  and  when  its  little  stomach  becomes  so  full 
that  it  runs  over,  and  the  food  runs  down  the  corners 
of  the  child's  mouth,  the  mother  scrapes  all  up  with 
the  spoon  and  crowds  it  down  again.  (Applause.) 

This  natural  preparation  (holding  up  an  infant's 
stomach,)  shows  you  the  size  of  the  child's  stomach  at 
birth.  It  will  not  contain,  as  you  will  observe,  more 
than  about  one  table-spoonful  of  nourishment  at  a 
time ;  and  yet  the  fond  mother  would  think  that  her 
young  infant  "  would  starve  to  death  if  it  did  not  eat 
at  least  half  a  tea-cup  full  of  cracker-stuff,"  or  other 
food  !  Is  it  strange,  under  such  circumstances,  that  its 
stomach  is  often  out  of  order,  and  that  "  it  wants  a 
little  magnesia  to  sweeten  it,"  &c.  —  that  it  becomes 
cross  and  irritable  —  that  it  has  fits  and  convulsions, 
and  infantile  cholera,  and  scores  of  diseases  that  are 
so  destructive  to  human  life  I  The  only  wonder  is, 
how  such  children  live  at  all.  If  they  had  not  prodi- 
gious vital  and  recuperative  powers,  they  must  all  fall 
a  sacrifice  to  this  insane  custom  !  (Great  sensation.) 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  59 

When  children  sicken  and  die  from  such  causes,  pa- 
rents console  themselves  and  relieve  their  consciences 
from  all  responsibility  in  preserving  the  health  of  their 
own  offspring,  by  laying  all  the  blame  upon  the  shoul- 
ders of  Divine  Providence,  when  in  reality  they  have 
destroyed  their  children  themselves  !  It  is  high  time 
that  parents  should  understand  that  the  Creator  holds 
them  strictly  accountable  for  the  preservation  of  the 
health  of  their  children.  The  position  of  a  mother 
necessarily  involves  the  greatest  responsibilities  and 
the  highest  and  noblest  duties,  and  if  she  is  not  qual- 
ified, by  thorough  physical,  moral  and  mental  education 
and  training,  to  discharge  them,  hard  indeed  will  be 
the  fate  of  her  unfortunate  offspring. 

2d.  All  organs,  when  diseased,  require  rest,  in  order 
that  they  may  restore  themselves. 

The  importance  of  observing  this  principle  is  gener- 
ally recognized  in  reference  to  inflammatory  affections 
of  the  eye.  No  one  afflicted  with  disease  of  the  eyes, 
would  think  of  using  them  in  reading,  &c.,  because 
they  soon  learn  from  experience  that  the  use  of  them, 
under  such  circumstances,  is  followed  by  increased 
pain  and  inflammation.  The  same  law  holds  good  in 
reference  to  all  of  the  organs  of  the  human  body,  when 
diseased.  Excessive  action,  under  such  circumstances, 
increases  the  pain,  inflammation  and  disease.  If  you 
suffer  from  indigestion,  produced  by  functional  or  or- 
ganic derangement  of  the  stomach,  you  should  not 
forget  that  this  organ  requires  rest,  in  order  to  recover 
its  exhausted  energies.  The  failure  on  the  part  of 
the  great  mass  of  mankind  to  recognize  the  truth  and 
importance  of  this  principle,  is  one  of  the  reasons  that 


60  LECTURES   ON    THE 

dyspepsia  proves  so  often  incurable.  If  the  dyspeptic 
becomes  diseased  and  exhausted  from  over-eating,  so 
that  his  stomach  cannot  digest  even  the  smallest  quan- 
tity of  the  simplest  food,  without  producing  pain,  he 
foolishly  imagines  that  it  can  only  be  strengthened  by 
giving  it  more  labor  to  perform.  "  English  factory 
children  have  received  the  commiseration  of  the  world 
because  they  were  scourged  to  work  eighteen  hours 
out  of  twenty-four ;  but  there  is  many  a  theoretic  re- 
publican who  is  a  harsher  Pharaoh  to  his  stomach  than 
this — who  allows  it  no  more  resting  time  than  he  does 
his  watch — who  gives  it  no  Sunday,  no  holiday,  no 
vacation  in  any  sense.  (Applause.) 

What  would  you  think  of  the  master  who  should 
compel  his  slaves  to  labor  after  they  were  fatigued  and 
exhausted,  in  order  that  they  might  be  refreshed  and 
restored  ]  You  would  certainly  think  that  the  only 
suitable  place  for  such  a  man,  would  be  a  lunatic 
asylum !  Nor  is  the  practice  of  eating  large  quanti- 
ties of  the  simplest  food  when  the  stomach  is  diseased 
and  exhausted,  more  reasonable  or  less  fatal  in  its 
results ! 

Last  summer  I  was  requested  to  visit  a  sturdy  me- 
chanic, laboring  under  chronic  inflammation  of  the  stom- 
ach, brought  on  by  excessive  eating.  I  prescribed  a 
very  low  diet  and  rest,  and  some  cooling  mucilaginous 
drinks,  and  in  a  few  days  he  had  so  far  recovered  as 
to  be  able  to  move  about  the  house,  and  told  his  wife 
that  he  thought  if  he  could  only  eat  something  he 
would  soon  get  strong  and  well.  She  asked  him  what 
he  would  prefer  for  his  dinner;  and  he  replied  that  he 
could  not  think  of  anything  that  he  thought  he  would 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  61 

relish  as  well  as  apple  dumplings.  She  cooked  half  a 
dozen  for  dinner,  and  after  they  were  carefully  prepared, 
he  sat  down  to  the  table  and  began  upon  them,  and  in 
a  few  moments  managed  to  dispatch  five,  before  he 
had  even  time  for  thought  or  reflection.  Upon  look- 
ing up  he  saw  his  little  son  sitting  beside  him,  and 
looking  wishfully  at  the  last  dumpling.  The  father's 
feelings  were  a  little  touched,  but  the  impression  pro- 
duced by  the  remaining  dumpling  was  a  little  the 
strongest,  and  so  patting  his  little  son  upon  his  head, 
he  observed,  "  poor  papa  is  sick !"  and  quickly  swal- 
lowed the  last  one,  and  scarcely  escaped  with  his  life ! 
(Great  applause.) 

If  the  physician  could  only  sew  up  the  mouth  of 
his  patients,  leaving  only  a  small  opening  at  one  cor- 
ner, there  would  be  little  trouble  in  curing  the  various 
forms  of  indigestion ;  and  hence  I  say  to  you,  that  in 
the  cure  of  these  affections  much  more  depends  upon 
the  patients  themselves  than  upon  the  physician ! 

3d.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  the  quality  of  the  food 
of  man  must  be  adapted  to  the  nature  of  his  stomach. 
The  food  of  man  should  be  sufficiently  coarse  and  stim- 
ulating, in  order  to  call  the  stomach  and  gastric  folli- 
cles into  healthy  action,  and  carry  on  the  process  of 
digestion  without  the  production  of  pain  and  disease. 
If  our  diet  is  composed  of  fine  material,  such  as  oil, 
sugar,  starch,  and  fine  flour,  sweetmeats,  &c.,  they  will 
not  stimulate  the  stomach  sufficiently  to  cause  its  fol- 
licles to  secrete  the  gastric  fluid,  or  rennet,  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  dissolve  the  food,  and  hence  the  Esqui- 
maux and  Greenlander,  who  subsist  upon  whale  oil 
and  the  fat  of  the  polar  bear,  are  compelled  to  mix 


62  LECTURES   ON   THE 

them  with  earth,  in  order  to  adapt  them  to  the  powers 
of  the  digestive  system. 

Observation  and  experience  teach  us  that  sweet  and 
oily  substances  are  extremely  difficult  of  digestion,  and 
the  latter  more  especially  when  submitted  to  a  high 
temperature,  as  in  the  preparation  of  the  various  kinds 
of  cakes  and  pastry,  &c. 

The  languid  stomach 

Curses  e'en  the  pure,  delicious  fat,  and  all  the  race,  of  oil ; 
Far  more  the  oily  aliment  relaxes  its  feeble  tone  ; 
The  insoluble  oil,  so  gentle  late,  and  blandishing, 
In  floods  of  rancid  bile  o'erflows  :  what  tumults  hence, 
What  horrors  rise,  'twere  nauseous  to  relate. 

Fresh  butter,  in  moderate  proportions,  when  com- 
bined with  wholesome  vegetable  matter,  generally  agrees 
with  the  dyspeptic ;  but  when  old,  rancid,  or  melted 
with  food,  should  always  be  carefully  avoided.  Nor 
can  I  condemn  in  too  strong  language,  the  practice  of 
giving  young  children  large  quantities  of  sweet  food — 
inasmuch  as  it  almost  always  induces  weakness  and 
debility  of  the  digestive  organs ;  if  not  in  infancy,  it 
will  lay  the  foundation  of  dyspepsia  in  after  life. 

The  dyspeptic  should  also  carefully  avoid  all  kinds 
of  salt  meat,  fish,  pork,  cabbage,  pickles,  and  pre- 
serves, all  fresh  breads  and  cakes,  if  they  would  recover 
from  their  disease.  All  fresh  bread  should  undergo,  a 
chemical  change,  analogous  to  the  process  of  fermen- 
tation, after  it  cools  in  the  pantry,  before  it  becomes 
fit  to  eat,  or  it  will  undergo  a  similar  process  in  the 
human  stomach  before  it  digests,  producing  flatulent 
eructations,  sourness  of  the  stomach,  &c. 

The  dyspeptic  will  do  well  to  carefully  examine  the 
following  table,  exhibiting  the  comparative  digestibility 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE. 


63 


of  the  various  kinds  of  food,  and  select  his  diet  from 
those  which  appear  to  be  the  most  wholesome: 

TABLE, 

SHOWING    THE    MEAN    TIME    OF    DIGESTION    OF    THE    DIFFERENT   ARTICLES 

OF    DIET. 


Articles. 

Preparation 

Time. 

Articles. 

Preparation. 

Time. 

Apples,  sour,  hard, 

Raw, 
Raw, 
Raw, 
Broiled, 
Boiled, 
Roasted, 
Roasted, 
Broiled, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Fried, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Baked, 
Baked, 
Melted, 
Raw, 
Raw, 
Boiled, 
Baked, 
Boiled, 
Fried, 
Raw, 
Fricas'd, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Baked, 
Baked, 
Baked, 
Boiled, 
Roasted, 
Roasted, 
Boiled 
hard, 
Boiled 
soft, 
Fried, 
Raw, 
Fried, 
Boiled, 
Roasted, 
Roasted, 
Broiled, 
Broiled, 

h.  m. 
2  50 
2 
1  30 
3 
2  30 
3 
3  30 
3 
3  36 
3  10 
4 
4  15 
3  45 
3  30 
3  15 
3  30 
2  30 
2 
4  30 
2  30 
3  15 
3  30 
3  30 
2  45 
2 
3  45 
3  15 
3 
2  45 
3 
4 
4  30 

3  30 

3 

3  30 
2 
3  30 
4 
4 
2  30 
2  30 
2 

Meat  hashed  with  / 
vegetables,       -     } 
Milk,            -        - 

Mutton,  fresh,     - 

Warm'd, 

Boiled, 
Raw, 
Roasted, 
Broiled, 
Boiled, 
Raw, 
Roasted, 
Stewed, 
Boiled, 
Roasted, 
Boiled, 
Roasted, 
Boiled, 
Fried, 
Broiled, 
Raw, 
Broiled, 
Boiled, 
Baked, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Broiled, 

Boiled, 

Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Boiled, 
Fried, 

Roasted, 

Boiled, 
Roasted, 
Boiled, 
Broiled, 
Fried, 
Broiled, 

h.  m. 
230 

2 
2  15 
3  15 
3 
3 
2  55 
3  15 
3  30 
2  30 
2  30 
1 
5  15 
4  30 
4  15 
3  15 
3 
3  15 
3  30 
2  30 
1 
1  45 
4 
3  20 

4 

3 
3  30 
3  30 
5  30 
4  30 
2 
1 
1  30 
1  30 

2  30 

2  25 
2  18 
3  30 
4 
4  30 
1  35 

,  sweet,     do., 
Bass,  striped,  fresh, 
Beans,  pod,    - 
Beef,  fresh,  lean,  rare, 

j 

5  dry, 
steak,     - 

Oysters,  fresh,     - 

' 

,  fresh,  lean, 
,  old,  hard,  salted, 
Beets,    - 
Bread,  wheat,  fresh, 
,  corn, 
Butter, 
Cabbage  head, 

Parsnips, 
Pig,  sucking, 
Pigs'  feet,  soused, 
Pork,  fat  and  lean, 
,  recently  salted, 

' 

' 

Cake,  sponge, 
Carrot,  orange, 
Catfish, 
Cheese,  old,  strong, 
Chicken,  full-grown, 
Codfish,  cured,  dry, 
Corn,  green,  and  beans, 
bread,    - 
cake, 
Custard, 
Dumpling,  apple, 
Ducks,  domesticated, 

Potatoes,  Irish,    - 

Rice,             -    '    - 
Sago, 
Salmon,  salted,    - 
Sausage,  fresh,    - 
Soup,  beef,  vegeta-  j 
bles,  and  bread,     } 
,  chicken, 
,  mutton, 
,  oyster, 
Suet,  beef,  fresh, 

,  wild, 
Eggs,  fresh,  - 

Tapioca, 
Tripe,  soused, 
Trout,  salmon,  fresh, 

Turkey,  domestica-  / 
ted,           -        -     j 

'  TV!  If) 

5 

Flounder,  fresh,    - 
Fowl,  domestic,    - 

Goose, 
Lamb,  fresh, 
Liver,  beef's,  fresh, 

Turnips,  flat, 
Veal,  fresh, 

Venison  steak,    - 

4 

64  LECTURES   ON  THE 

4th.  Our  food  should  be  eaten  with  deliberation,  and 
thoroughly  masticated  and  mixed  with  the  saliva  while 
in  the  mouth,  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  capacity  of  the 
stomach. 

The  stomach,  as  you  will  observe,  (holding  up  a  nat- 
ural stomach,)  is  a  thin  membranous  sac,  and  is  not 
adapted  to  digest  large  masses  of  coarse  and  crude  food, 
and  consequently  our  food  should  be  thoroughly  chewed, 
and  reduced  to  the  finest  consistence  while  it  is  yet  in 
the  mouth,  before  its  introduction  into  so  delicate  an 
organ  as  the  stomach. 

Those  animals  which  do  not  chew,  but  swallow  their 
food,  like  the  turkey  and  the  ostrich,  have  large  mem- 
branous craws  beneath  the  skin,  in  their  breasts,  which 
receive  the  food,  and  after  it  has  been  softened  by  the 
juices,  it  is  carried  into  the  gizzard,  a  kind  of  mill, 
where  it  is  ground  to  the  finest  consistence,  and  then 
into  the  stomach.  Unfortunately  for  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  the  dyspeptic,  no  analogous  mechanical 
arrangement  exists  in  the  human  system ;  and  if  we 
eat  our  food  ostrich  fashion,  unless  we  have  gizzards, 
we  shall  be  badly  off  for  the  means  of  digesting  it. 
(Applause.) 

In  the  human  being  the  digestive  process  commences 
in  the  mouth,  and  terminates  in  the  stomach ;  and  un- 
less the  teeth  perform  their  part  of  the  process  in  a 
proper  manner,  the  stomach  has  a  double  duty  to  per- 
form, which  not  unfrequently  exhausts  its  energies, 
and  finally  induces  incurable  disease.  My  very  exten- 
sive experience  and  observations  during  the  last  ten 
years,  prove  conclusively  that  more  indigestion  is  pro- 
duced by  rapid  eating  than  by  all  other  causes  com- 
bined. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  65 

There  is  perhaps  no  other  country  on  the  face  of  the 
globe,  where  we  find  this  protean  malady  of  so  fre- 
quent occurrence !  The  American  people  have  often 
been  termed  a  "  nation  of  dyspeptics  !"  And  why  1 
Simply  because  they  are  so  active  that  they  have  not 
even  time  to  eat ! 

The  American  people  are  distinguished  as  an  active, 
sanguine  race,  busily  engaged  in  the  great  battle  of 
life,  in  the  turmoil,  toil  and  strife  of  trade  and  com- 
merce, and  in  transferring  the  standard  of  civilization 
from  the  frozen  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  golden 
sands  of  the  Pacific.  They  appear  upon  the  stage  of 
life  like  a  brilliant  meteor,  and  disappear  with  the  flash 
of  the  comet !  "  They  go  ahead !"  as  the  saying  is, 
"  and  live  like  lightning  and  die  like  lightning."  (Ap- 
plause.) If  they  stop  to  eat,  it  is  only  when  compelled  • 
to  do  so,  by  the  craving  wants  of  nature,  and  then  they 
eat  as  though  their  lives  depended  upon  the  comple- 
tion of  the  repast  in  about  ten  minutes ! 

Go  station  yourselves  in  the  spacious  dining  saloons 
of  some  of  those  palaces  that  float  upon  our  numerous 
inland  seas  and  rivers,  in  the  fashionable  summer  sea- 
son, and  behold  how  the  elitd  eat  their  food,  and  you 
will  no  longer  be  astonished  that  dyspepsia  is  marked 
in  indelible  lines  upon  nine-tenths  of  their  counte- 
nances ! 

As  the  well  known  gong,  in  the  hands  of  the  sable 
waiter,  uc  peals  forth  its  thunder,"  announcing  that 
the  dinner  is  ready,  you  had  better  stand  aside,  for 
fear  you  may  get  run  over ;  while  in  they  rush,  like 
a  cloud  of  hungry  vultures  descending  to  their  prey — 
every  one  casting  an  anxious  glance  down  the  long 


66  LECTURES   ON  THE 

table  that  groans  beneath  the  weight  of  viands  spread 
upon  its  ample  surface ;  and  hastily  seating  themselves 
opposite  the  largest  turkey,  brandish  the  knife,  and 
prepare  for  action.  With  an  agitated  and  nervous 
hand,  each  quickly  helps  himself  to  everything  upon 
the  table  within  convenient  distance,  and  then  com- 
mences the  process  of  swallowing — a  feat  of  dexterity 
that  would  do  honor  to  the  most  adroit  juggler  of  an- 
cient or  modern  times.  In  the  first  place,  he  cuts  a 
large  potato  into  four  equal  parts,  so  as  to  have  them 
ready,  and  then,  after  cutting  a  large  piece  of  meat, 
and  placing  it  upon  his  knife,  with  a  most  skillful  and 
rapid  movement  it  is  deposited  in  his  mouth,  and  be- 
fore he  shuts  it,  for  fear  of  losing  time,  in  flies  a  quar- 
ter of  potato ;  and  then  he  stretches  up  his  neck,  and 
rolls  his  eyes  in  terror,  for  fear  of  suifocation,  and  with 
a  desperate  and  convulsive  struggle,  bolts  the  whole 
mass  into  his  stomach.  (Shouts  of  applause.)  This 
practice  is  so  common  in  this  country,  as  to  be  desig- 
nated by  foreigners,  "the  American  habit  of  bolting, 
not  eating,  their  food." 

But  some  will  say  that  they  have  not  sufficient  time 
to  eat  their  food  like  rational  human  beings,  and  so 
they  must  eat  it  and  run  like  a  turkey.  (Applause.) 
It  is  certain  that  if  we  do  not  voluntarily  find  sufficient 
time  to  eat  our  food  in  a  proper  manner,  we  shall  be 
compelled  to  find  time  to  be  sick,  and  perhaps  die.  If 
you  are  so  thronged  with  business  and  the  cares  of  life 
that  you  do  not  find  time  to  eat  your  dinner  in  a 
proper  manner,  you  had  better  go  without  it  until  sup- 
per time,  or  until  you  finish  your  employments;  and 
not  insanely  sacrifice  your  health  merely  for  the  pleas- 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  67 

ure  of  eating!  A  man  who  is  too  busy  to  take  care  of 
his  health  is  much  like  a  mechanic  who  is  too  busy  to 
take  care  of  his  tools. 

5th.  After  digesting  our  food  the  stomach  requires 
rest  in  order  that  it  may  recover  its  exhausted  energies. 

The  observations  of  Dr.  Beaumont  upon  Alexander 
St.  Martin,  whose  stomach  was  perforated  by  the  dis- 
charge of  a  gun  loaded  with  slugs,  while  engaged  in 
military  service  on  the  north-western  frontier,  leaving 
an  opening  so  that  he  could  see  the  food  during  diges- 
tion, establish,  among  many  other  interesting  facts, 
that  about  three  hours  are  required  to  digest  an  ordi- 
nary repast.  During  all  of  this  time  the  stomach  is 
in  constant  motion,  moving  the  food  from  one  end  of 
it  to  the  other,  and  mixing  it  with  the  gastric  fluid 
until  it  is  finally  dissolved  or  digested. 

Now  it  is  a  natural  law  that  all  action  is  attended 
with  a  loss  of  power,  if  not  followed  by  rest ;  and  in- 
asmuch as  the  stomach  cannot  rest  during  digestion  it 
must  be  allowed  to  remain  empty  until  it  recovers  its 
exhausted  energies !  The  habit  of  frequent  eating  is 
injurious  in  two  ways ;  first,  it  keeps  the  stomach  in 
constant  employment,  thereby  preventing  the  necessary 
rest ;  and,  second,  it  deranges  the  process  of  digestion 
by  mixing  fresh,  crude  food  with  that  which  is  nearly 
digested.  If  you  were  engaged  in  making  mortar  for 
building  purposes,  and  after  you  had  it  nearly  prepared 
and  fit  for  use,  some  stranger  should  rudely  mix  with 
it  a  quantity  of  fresh  clay,  you  would  be  compelled  to 
go  through  the  same  process  again ;  and  so  it  is  with 
digestion.  Hence  the  impropriety  of  eating  oftener 
than  once  in  six  hours. 


68  LECTURES   ON  THE 

This  law  should  be  strictly  observed  in  infancy  as 
well  as  in  after  life.  Young  infants,  during  the  first 
few  days,  should  be  allowed  to  nurse  as  often  as  once 
in  three  hours  during  the  day,  but  never  during  the 
night,  if  the  mother  values  her  own  happiness  as  well 
as  that  of  her  offspring.  Children  acquire  habits  while 
very  young,  and  if  the  mother  allows  them  to  nurse 
during  the  night  they  will  always  want  to. 

The  practice  of  giving  children  pieces  between  whiles 
is  exceedingly  pernicious,  and  not  only  destroys  their 
health,  but  also  their  appetite  for  their  regular  meals. 
Fruit,  nuts,  raisins  and  candy  should  never  be  eaten 
between  whiles,  and  only  moderately  at  the  time  of 
the  usual  repast. 

6th.  The  condition  of  the  body  and  mind  exert  a 
great  influence  upon  the  digestive  powers ! 

If  you  examine  figure  1,  fronting  the  title  page,  you 
will  observe  that  the  two  great  cavities  of  the  chest 
and  abdomen  appear  to  be  very  closely  filled  with 
the  vital  and  nutritive  organs,  in  constant  motion. 
Now  if  we  bend  forward,  in  sitting  or  standing,  we 
diminish  the  size  of  these  two  great  cavities,  and  thus 
compress  the  stomach  and  prevent  it  from  acting! 

You  have  often  observed  while  engaged  in  any  se- 
dentary employment,  and  bending  forward,  what  relief 
would  be  afforded  by  straightening  up  once  in  a  while. 
How  often  the  young  lady  who  is  engaged  leaning  for- 
ward, sewing,  is  compelled  to  raise  up,  on  account  of 
the  pain  and  uneasiness  in  the  side,  produced  by  press- 
ing these  organs  against  each  other ! 

The  erect  position  of  the  body  will  be  carefully 
maintained  in  sitting  or  standing,  in  proportion  as  you 
value  the  blessing  of  good  health. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF    LIFE.  69 

Again:  the  human  brain  is  connected  with  the 
stomach  by  means  of  two  very  large  nerves,  which  run 
down  on  each  side  of  the  neck,  and  then  along  the 
meat  pipe  to  the  stomach,  giving  off  numerous  branches 
to  the  heart  and  lungs,  &c.  If  you  fall  and  injure 
your  head,  or  jar  the  brain,  how  soon  it  makes  you 
sick  at  the  stomach.  Vomiting  often  follows  the  slight- 
est concussion  or  injury  of  the  brain  !  Indigestion  is 
often  caused  by  nervous  debility,  produced  by  strong 
physical,  mental,  or  moral  excitement,  and  it  should 
be  carefully  avoided  by  the  dyspeptic.  Gentle  exercise 
of  the  feelings  in  pleasing,  social  conversation,  will 
equalize  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and  communicate 
a  healthy  stimulus  to  the  digestive  functions;  and 
hence,  when  the  husband  and  father  has  completed  his 
frugal  repast,  he  should  take  his  children  upon  his 
knees  and  play  with  them,  and  converse  with  his  wife, 
if  he  would  relieve  the  cares  of  life,  and  promote  the 
healthy  action  of  the  various  organs  of  his  body.  It 
is  these  little  acts  of  kindness,  which  contribute  more 
powerfully  than  pills  and  panacseas,  to  promote  the 
health  and  the  happiness  of  his  family ! 

7th.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  the  habitual  use  of  all 
stimulants  which  first  excite  and  then  debilitate  the 
vascular  and  nervous  systems,  impairs  the  vigor  of  the 
digestive  powers. 

Strong  coffee  is  much  worse  than  black  tea,  for  the 
dyspeptic,  and  all  others  laboring  under  the  influence 
of  weak  digestion,  and  should  be  carefully  avoided. 
The  experiments  of  Dr.  Beaumont,  before  mentioned, 
show  that  the  habitual  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  in- 
flames the  lining  surface  of  the  stomach,  and  injures 


70  LECTURES   ON  THE 

its  functions;  and  consequently,  the  inebriate  is  rarely 
free  from  the  pains  of  indigestion. 

Nor  is  the  habitual  use  of  that  nauseous  Indian 
weed,  tobacco,  less  injurious  in  its  tendency  or  fatal  in 
its  results.  Tobacco  is  a  powerful  sedative,  emetic, 
and  narcotic,  and  has  recently  been  declared  by  Orfila, 
the  President  of  the  French  Academy  of  Medicine  at 
Paris,  to  be  the  most  subtle  poison  known  to  the  chem- 
ist, except  the  deadly  prussic  acid !  A  piece  of  the 
dried  leaf  of  tobacco  of  the  size  of  a  dime,  when  given 
to  a  child  a  few  years  old,  will  produce  vomiting,  and 
the  most  alarming  weakness  and  general  prostration. 
If  the  smoker,  who  smokes  his  half-dozen  of  the  best 
Spanish,  would  hold  the  clean,  white  surface  of  a  sheet 
of  letter  paper  over  the  smoke  of  a  single  cigar,  as  it 
curls  up  in  majestic  clouds  from  his  mouth,  and  after- 
wards scrape  the  yellow  oil  of  tobacco  from  its  polished 
surface  with  the  point  of  his  penknife,  and  insert  it 
beneath  the  skin  on  the  nose  of  a  mouse,  it  would  kill 
it  in  a  few  moments  !  A  few  grains  of  that  dark  sedi- 
ment which  may  be  obtained  in  any  old  German  pipe, 
when  placed  upon  the  end  of  a  dog's  tongue,  is  almost 
immediately  destructive  of  life.  Its  active  principle, 
nicotina,  has  recently  been  used  in  Germany  by  the 
Count  De  Bocarme,  for  the  purpose  of  committing  one 
of  the  most  atrocious  murders  on  record !  Indeed,  no 
chemical  fact  is  better  established  than  that  the  active 
principle  of  tobacco  is  one  of  the  most  subtle  and 
deadly  poisons  known.  It  is  even  more  fatal  than 
arsenic,  opium,  corrosive  sublimate,  or  mercury.  (Sen- 
sation.) 

But  you  will  inquire,  if  these  statements  are  chemi- 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  71 

cal  facts,  how  is  it  that  so  many  can  use  it  without 
immediately  destroying  life  1  The  answer  is,  because 
nature  has  benevolently  given  us  great  powers  of  physi- 
cal endurance,  and  not  because  the  poison  is  innoxious. 
The  law  of  toleration  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
the  miserable  victim  of  appetite  and  passion.  It  ena- 
bles us  to  gradually  increase  the  quantity  of  opium, 
day  by  day,  from  one  grain  on  up  to  a  single  drachm 
at  a  dose :  to  gradually  increase  the  dose  of  tartar 
emetic,  from  one  grain  to  sixty,  without  producing 
vomiting:  to  increase  the  amount  of  whisky,  from 
one  table-spoonful,  up  to  a  gallon  a  day,  without 
producing  great  intoxication,  and  it  also  enables  us  to 
begin  with  a  small  quantity  of  tobacco  each  day,  and 
gradually  increase  it,  day  by  day,  until  at  last  we  be- 
come accomplished  and  fashionable  chewers,  and  can 
chew  a  plug  a  day  !  (Great  sensation.) 

Now  does  this  law  of  habitual  accommodation,  prove 
that  all  of  these  virulent  poisons  are  not  injurious  to 
the  constitution  of  man  I  Certainly  not !  These  in- 
teresting facts  prove  that  the  vital  powers  are  indeed 
prodigious,  and  that  they  are  constantly  endeavoring 
to  overcome  all  morbid  and  injurious  influences,  from 
whatever  source  they  may  come;  and  although  the 
habitual  use  of  these  well  known  poisons  may  not 
prove  suddenly  destructive  to  human  life,  they  do  not 
the  less  certainly  produce  their  legitimate  influence 
upon  the  human  system  by  producing  dyspepsia, 
rheumatism,  epilepsy,  apoplexy,  paralysis,  palsy,  ner- 
vous debility,  idiocy  and  insanity.  During  the  last  six 
years,  I  have  prescribed  for  more  than  ten  thousand 
cases  of  chronic  diseases  in  the  United  States ;  and  I 


72  LECTURES   ON  THE 

am  thoroughly  convinced,  from  very  extensive  observa- 
tion, that  more  cases  of  the  above  diseases  are  produced 
by  the  habitual  use  of  tobacco,  than  from  any  other 
known  cause.  A  physician  in  the  town  of  Brighton 
informs  me  that  he  has  attended  thirteen  cases  of  pa- 
ralysis, during  the  last  six  months,  produced  by  it.  It 
exhausts  and  destroys  all  of  the  vital  and  nervous 
energies,  and  is  the  more  dangerous  inasmuch  as  its 
destructive  influences  are  gradually  and  almost  imper- 
ceptibly developed.  Dr.  Howe,  the  superintendent  of 
the  Massachusetts  Blind  and  Deaf  Asylum  at  South 
Boston,  says  that  the  habitual  use  of  tobacco  paralyzes 
the  optic  and  auditory  nerves,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
common  causes  of  blindness  and  deafness.  .  I  have  re- 
peatedly met  with  cases  of  diseased  eyes  that  had 
resisted  all  ordinary  treatment  with  success,  which  were 
speedily  restored  by  ceasing  to  chew  and  smoke.  In 
consequence  of  its  peculiar  influence  upon  the  nervous 
system,  it  blunts  the  moral  sensibilities,  and  impairs 
the  nervous  energies,  and  weakens  the  mental  faculties. 
Indomitable  energy  and  success  in  life  are  closely  associ- 
ated with  each  other.  Let  the  young  man  look  around 
him  in  society  and  mark  well  the  habits  of  those  whose 
fortunes  he  would  covet,  or  whose  fate  he  would  avoid. 
Have  you  ever  known  a  young  lad  that  commenced  to 
chew  tobacco  at  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve,  to  attain  great 
eminence  in  society,  by  the  aid  of  his  own  genius  and 
energy]  (Sensation.)  I  have  never  known  a  single 
instance  of  a  young  lad  who  had  acquired  this  perni- 
cious habit  in  early  life  who  ever  attained  great  physical, 
mental  or  moral  excellence  —  who  ever  became  distin- 
guished far  above  the  great  mass  of  mankind.  The 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  73 

habitual  use  of  tobacco  in  early  life  softens  the  bones, 
weakens  the  muscles,  and  impairs  all  of  those  vital 
energies  which  are  so  essential  to  success  in  after  life. 
Its  active  principle  is  taken  up  by  the  absorbents  of 
the  mouth,  and  permeates  all  of  the  tissues  of  the  hu- 
man body,  completely  saturating  the  whole  system 
with  its  peculiar  properties,  so  that  we  may  detect  its 
odor  in  the  breath,  and  its  presence  in  all  of  the 
secretions. 

I  knew  a  young  clergyman  in  the  interior  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  sheets  of  whose  bed  were  as  yellow  as 
saffron  every  Saturday  night,  from  the  tobacco  which 
had  exhaled  through  his  skin  during  the  week;  indeed, 
his  bed  was  a  perfect  smoke-house,  and  his  body  was 
perfectly  smoked  and  dried  until  it  was  as  yellow  as 
a  smoked  herring !  (Great  applause.) 

Dr.  Lawson,  the  surgeon  general  of  the  United 
States  army,  who  accompanied  Gen.  Scott  to  Mexico, 
informs  us  that  the  wolves,  the  buzzards,  and  the  jack- 
als would  not  eat  the  smoked  flesh  of  the  smoker, 
until  they  had  eaten  up  all  of  the  fresh  ones  among 
the  slain.  Now,  I  would  ask  all  of  those  who  persist 
in  smoking  and  chewing,  how  they  can  expect  these 
refined  young  ladies,  or  rather  angels,  as  they  call 
them,  to  accept  and  cherish,  love  and  obey,  what  even 
the  buzzards  would  reject  as  worthless  !  (Tremendous 
applause.) 

The  habitual  use  of  tobacco  also  weakens  the  ner- 
vous system,  and  renders  one  cross,  morose  and  irritable, 
and  often  produces  delirium  and  insanity.  One  of  the 
worst  cases  of  delirium  tremens  that  ever  I  attended 
in  my  life,  was  a  member  of  the  "  Sons  of  Temperance," 


74  LECTURES   ON  THE 

and  his  disease  was  produced  by  the  inordinate  use  of 
tobacco.  This  disease,  which  I  call  the  "  tobacco  tre- 
mens,"  is  far  more  common  than  is  generally  supposed. 

Dr.  Woodward,  of  the  Worcester  Insane  Asylum, 
and  Dr.  Brigham,  of  the  Utica  Insane  Asylum,  both 
inform  us  that  tobacco  is  frequently  a  cause  of  insan- 
ity and  idiocy.  Now,  if  these  statements  do  not  arrest 
the  attention  of  the  tobacco  chewer  and  smoker,  let 
him  consult  his  own  feelings,  and  he  will,  in  a  large 
majority  of  instances,  find  enough  to  convince  the  most 
incredulous  as  to  its  injurious  influence  upon  his  body 
and  mind. 

But  again,  the  influence  of  tobacco  is  not  only  in- 
jurious, bat  it  is  a  useless  and  filthy  practice,  impairing 
our  self  respect,  and  rendering  us  careless  of  all  per- 
sonal appearances  in  our  social  intercourse  with  the 
world  around  us.  If  any  of  the  consumers  of  this 
vile  Indian  weed  doubt  the  truth  of  this  observation, 
let  them  visit  with  me,  if  they  please,  the  house  of  the 
young  lady  for  whom  they  have  experienced  "  the  ten- 
der passion."  Perhaps  we  shall  find  her  engaged  in 
the  ordinary  duties  of  housewifery — making  pies,  for 
instance,  with  the  allspice  and  other  spices  spread 
over  the  fruit  upon  their  upper  surface,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  a  little  cinnamon  which  she  has  just  taken 
from  another  box  carelessly  left  upon  the  surface  of  the 
upper  lip.  (Applause.)  Or,  perhaps  we  shall  find 
her  kneading  up  the  bread,  with  the  yellow  drop  hang- 
ing in  doubtful  security  at  the  end  of  the  nose.  (Ap- 
plause.) Or  you  may  be  like  a  friend  of  mine,  not 
long  since,  in  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  who  was  very  fond 
of  apple  dumplings.  He  persuaded  his  landlady  one 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  75 

day  to  prepare  some  for  dinner,  and  he  noticed  while 
she  was  engaged  in  helping  him  to  a  liberal  allowance, 
that  there  was  a  yellow  drop  hanging  to  the  end  of 
her  nose  immediately  over  his  plate.  He  says  he  looked 
up  when  she  handed  it  to  him  and  found  the  drop  was 
gone,  and  he  soon  ascertained  that  all  of  his  appetite 
had  gone  with  it.  He  was  seized  with  a  dreadful 
rolling  sensation  at  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  and  he  was 
compelled  hastily  to  leave  the  table.  (Rounds  of  ap- 
plause.) 

Suppose  you  should  call  some  fine  evening  very  un- 
expectedly, as  I  did  the  other  day,  upon  a  certain  young 
lady,  and  detect  her  "enjoying  her  comfort,"  as  they 
call  it  in  some  parts  of  the  country;  that  is,  rubbing 
her  teeth  with  an  old  snuff  rag,  with  her  sleeves  rolled 
up,  until  the  saliva  and  snuff  run  down  and  drop  off 
from  her  elbow  —  should  we  not  think  that  she  was 
very  lady-like  and  refined  ?  What  would  you  give  for 
the  matrimonial  prospects  of  such  a  young  lady1? 
Do  n't  all  speak  at  once,  for  there  are  enough  of  the 
same  sort  left!  (Applause.)  Now  what  think  you 
must  be  the  feelings  of  these  young  ladies,  could  they 
observe  you  in  the  village  bar-room,  leaning  back  in 
your  easy  chair,  with  your  feet  cocked  up  at  an  angle 
of  about  forty-five  degrees,  engaged  in  nursing  an  old 
filthy  long-nine  cigar1?  Would  they  think  "your  mo- 
ther knew  you  were  out,"  or  would  they  send  you  back 
to  the  nursery  until  you  were  old  enough  to  wean  1 
(Rounds  of  applause.) 

Not  long  since,  a  friend  of  mine  in  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  villages  of  the  sunny  South,  called  one  day 
upon  a  young  lady  to  whom  he  was  engaged  to  be 


76  LECTUKES  ON  THE 

married,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  his  respects  to  her. 
Having  arrived  at  the  lady's  residence,  on  this  occasion 
he  forgot  his  usual  custom  of  depositing  his  quid  of 
tobacco  at  the  foot  of  the  door  steps;  and,  having 
rung  the  bell,  the  young  lady  attended  the  summons 
herself,  and  as  she  opened  the  door  her  dear  Charles 
rushed  forward  to  imprint  the  expected  salutation;  and 
as  smack  went  the  kiss,  squirt  went  the  juice  of  tobacco 
all  over  the  side  of  the  lady's  face — informing  her,  for 
the  first  time,  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  using  it 
merely  "  for  the  sake  of  his  health."  (Applause.) 

When  our  fashionable  chewers  and  smokers  get  a 
little  older  they  throw  off  all  bashfulness — become 
extremely  polite  and  refined  in  their  way,  and  if  you 
have  a  good  carpet  on  the  floor,  they  will  show  you 
how  much  at  home  they  are  in  your  house,  by  spitting 
great  mouthsful  of  foetid  saliva  upon  the  floor;  and 
then,  as  if  to  cap  the  climax,  rub  it  in  with  the  foot! 
(Great  applause.) 

Again :  see  how  economical  these  nice  young  men 
are  of  this  "health-invigorating"  vegetable.  How 
careful  the  young  man  is  to  take  his  quid  out  of  his 
mouth  before  eating  his  dinner,  and  secretly  deposit  it 
in  the  bottom  of  his  vest  pocket  (a  laugh) ;  and,  after 
he  has  eaten  his  repast,  see  how  anxiously  he  fumbles 
his  pocket  for  this  most  precious  morsel,  in  order  that 
he  may  return  it  to  his  mouth  again !  (Great  applause.) 
Some  neat  housewives  provide  large  earthen  spittoons 
for  their  dear  loving  husbands  to  spit  in,  in  order  that 
they  may  preserve  the  carpet.  Did  any  of  you  ever 
examine  one  of  these  American  notions — (for,  indeed, 
they  are  almost  entirely  unknown  in  foreign  countries,) 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  77 

the  character  of  its  contents — those  huge  quids,  "old 
sodgers,"  &c.,  floating  in  their  appropriate  element] 
Can  you  imagine  anything  more  appropriately  termed 
the  filth  of  filthmess1?  And  who,  pray  tell  us,  wash  and 
cleanse  these  spittoons  from  time  to  time,  for  our  gen- 
teel and  nice  young  men  1  Why,  their  dear  little  an- 
gels, to  be  sure !  (Applause.)  Now,  if  I  was  one  of 
these  ladies,  and  had  a  husband  that  insisted  upon  his 
right  to  chew  tobacco,  I  would  not  provide  for  him  a 
clean  spittoon,  but  I  would  get  a  large  gourd,  and  cut 
a  hole  in  it,  and  tie  a  tow  string  to  it,  and  suspend  it 
around  his  neck,  so  that  he  could  be  just  as  indepen- 
dent as  he  pleased,  and  spit  in  it  just  when  he  pleased, 
without  the  least  inconvenience ;  and  when  he  wanted 
an  emetic,  all  that  he  would  have  to  do  would  be,  to 
look  in  it,  and  see  it  reflect  his  own  image!  (Rounds 
of  applause.) 

But  some  will  say :  Doctor,  I  chew  for  the  benefit  of 
my  health,  or  to  preserve  my  teeth,  or  to  keep  me  from 
growing  too  fat,  &c.  Well,  now,  if  you  really  believe 
that  tobacco  is  good  for  all  of  these  things  that  you 
say  it  is  good  for,  why  don't  you  teach  your  wives  and 
your  daughters  to  smoke  and  chew  too,  so  as  to  pre- 
serve their  health,  &e.?  (A  laugh.)  It  strikes  me 
that  your  conduct  is  very  inconsistent,  inasmuch  as 
you  very  generally  deny  the  ladies'  right  to  preserve 
their  own  valuable  lives  by  the  same  means  which  you 
make  use  of  for  the  preservation  of  your  own !  The 
truth  is,  every  tobacco  consumer  has  a  secret  knowledge 
that  its  use  is  injurious  to  his  health,  and  hence  his 
opposition  to  its  use  on  the  part  of  his  family ;  and  the 
only  reason  why  he  does  not  break  oif  the  habit  is, 


78  LECTURES   ON   THE 

because  he  has  not  sufficient  independence  and  resolu- 
tion to  enable  him  to  do  so.  He  is  a  slave,  bound  for 
life !  A  slave  to  his  appetites  and  passions — having  the 
means  of  freedom,  and  yet  he  will  not  be  free!  (Great 
sensation.)  How  often  I  have  been  amused  in  listening 
to  the  half-cracked  voices  of  some  of  our  young  law- 
yers, delivering  an  oration  on  the  fourth  of  July. 
When  they  become  a  little  warm  in  defending  the 
right  of  the  United  Colonies  to  freedom  and  indepen- 
dence of  Old  England,  I  have  often  noticed  the  yel- 
low juice  stealing  down  the  corners  of  their  mouths; 
and  I  have  thought  to  myself — young  man,  with 
ali  your  patriotism,  you  scarcely  know  what  free- 
dom is.  That  man  only  is  truly  free  who  has  conquer- 
ed his  appetites,  passions,  and  propensities.  As  long 
as  his  appetite  subjects  his  reason  and  his  moral  sen- 
timents, he  is  not  a  freeman,  nor  is  he  independent. 
(Sensation.)  Talk  of  independence !  Why  he  is  not 
even  independent  of  his  tobacco  box,  which  subjects 
him  to  the  most  abject  slavery  known  in  modern  times! 
Not  the  slavery  of  brute  force,  but  a  slavery  that  is 
infinitely  worse — the  slavery  of  the  passions  over  the 
human  will  and  understanding ! 

Oh  let  me  entreat  the  younger  portions  of  this  audi- 
ence, who  are  just  commencing  to  form  habits  for  life, 
to  pause  and  reflect  ere  they  put  on  the  yoke  of  this 
modern  tyrant,  who  enslaves  the  mind  and  all  of  the 
highest  feelings  and  attributes  of  humanity!  Look 
around  you  in  society,  and  mark  well  the  habits  of 
those  whose  fortunes  you  would  desire,  or  whose  fate 
you  would  abhor ! 

Even  as  we  walk  these  beautiful  streets,  we  behold 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  79 

numerous  examples  of  the  results  of  a  vicious  and  ill- 
spent  life,  and  a  life  of  practical  righteousness  !  "Here, 
behold  the  patriarch,  whose  stock  of  vigor  three  score 
years  and  ten  seem  scarcely  to  have  impaired.  His 
erect  form,  his  firm  step,  and  elastic  limbs,  and  un- 
dimmed  senses,  are  so  many  certificates  of  good  con- 
duct; or,  rather,  so  many  jewels  and  orders  of  nobility, 
with  which  nature  has  honored  him  for  his  fidelity  to 
her  laws.  His  fair  complexion  shows  that  his  blood 
has  never  been  corrupted;  his  pure  breath,  that  he 
has  never  yielded  his  digestive  apparatus  for  a  vintner's 
cess-pool ;  his  exact  language  and  keen  apprehension, 
that  his  brain  has  never  been  drugged  or  stupefied  by 
poisons  of  distiller  or  tobacconist.  Enjoying  his  ap- 
petites to  the  highest,  he  has  preserved  the  power  of 
enjoying  them.  Despite  the  moral  of  the  school  boy's 
story,  he  has  eaten  his  cake,  and  still  he  has  kept  it ! 
As  he  drains  the  cup  of  life,  there  are  no  lees  at  the 
bottom.  His  organs  will  reach  the  goal  of  their  ex- 
istence together.  Painlessly,  and  as  a  lamp  burns 
down  in  its  socket,  so  will  he  make  his  exit. 

"  Like  an  old  clock,  worn  out  by  eating  time, 
"  The  weary  wheels  of  life  at  last  stand  still  — 

and  a  little  imagination  would  transform  him  into  an- 
other Enoch,  translated  from  earth  to  a  better  world 
without  the  sting  of  death ! 

"  But  look  again  at  an  opposite  extreme,  where  an 
opposite  history  is  recorded.  What  wreck  so  shocking 
to  behold  as  the  wreck  of  a  dissolute  man ;  the  vigor 
of  life  exhausted,  and  yet  the  first  steps  in  an  honor- 
able career  not  taken ;  dead,  but,  by  a  heathenish  cus- 
tom of  society,  not  buried!  Rogues  have  had  the 


80  LECTURES   ON  THE 

« 

initial  letter  of  their  title  burnt  into  the  palms  of  their 
hands  :  even  for  murder,  Cain  was  only  branded  on  his 
forehead,  but  over  the  whole  system  of  the  debauchee 
or  the  inebriate  the  signatures  of  infamy  are  written. 
How  indignant  nature  brands  him  with  the  stigma  of 
opprobrium !  How  she  hangs  labels  over  his  person, 
to  testify  her  disgust  at  his  existence,  and  to  admonish 
others  to  beware  of  his  habits  and  example !  How 
she  loosens  all  his  joints,  and  sends  tremors  along  his 
muscles,  and  bends  forward  his  frame,  as  if  to  bring 
him  upon  all  fours  with  kindred  brutes,  or  to  degrade 
him  to  the  reptile's  crawling  !  How  she  disfigures  his 
countenance,  as  if  intent  upon  obliterating  all  traces 
of  her  own  image,  so  that  she  may  swear  she  never 
made  him  !  How  she  pours  rheum  over  his  eyes,  sends 
foul  spirits  to  inhabit  his  breath,  and  shrieks  as  with  a 
trumpet,  from  every  pore  of  his  body,  behold  a  beast! 
Such  examples  may  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  our  cities 
every  day ;  and,  if  rich  enough,  they  may  be  found  in 
the  saloons  and  at  the  tables  of  the  "  upper  ten ; "  but, 
surely,  to  every  man  of  purity  and  honor,  to  every 
man  whose  wisdom  as  well  as  whose  heart  is  unblem- 
ished, the  wretch  who  comes  cropped  and  bleeding 
from  the  pillory  and  redolent  with  its  appropriate  per- 
fumes would  be  a  guest  far  less  offensive  and  disgusting. 
"  Now  let  the  younger  members  of  this  audience, 
rejoicing  in  the  vigor  of  health,  and  in  the  manliness 
of  their  proportions,  look  upon  these  two  pictures, 
and  say  after  the  likeness  of  which  model  they  design 
that  their  own  erect  statues  and  sublime  countenances 
shall  be  configured." 


LECTURE  III, 

CIRCULATION  OF  ^THE  BLOOD. 

TTOUB,  attention  is  invited,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 
J-  this  evening,  to  the  consideration  of  the  circulation 
of  the  blood,  and  the  organic  laws  which  regulate  the 
healthy  action  of  the  heart,  arteries,  capillaries  and 
veins.  If  we  examine  many  of  the  lower  animals,  we 
shall  not  find  any  special  system  or  apparatus  con- 
cerned in  the  circulation  of  the  nutritious  fluids  from 
one  portion  of  their  bodies  to  the  other.  In  the  centi- 
pede or  caterpillar  we  observe  two  small  pulsating 
blood-vessels,  which  distribute  their  blood  from  one 
end  of  the  animal  to  the  other,  without  the  agency  of 
any  heart  or  central  organ ;  and  if  we  examine  the 
frog,  a  little  higher  in  the  scale  of  animal  life,  we 
shall  find  a  perfectly  formed  heart,  which  contains  but 
two  chambers  or  cavities ;  whereas  in  man  and  all  of  the 
higher  animals  it  is  a  double  organ,  containing  four 
cavities,  of  which  the  two  upper  ones  are  called  the 
auricles  and  the  two  lower  ones  the  ventricles,  and 
connected  with  them  two  kinds  of  blood-vessels, 
called  the  arteries  and  the  veins,  which  contain  two 
kinds  of  blood,  called  the  red  and  the  black  blood. 
The  human  heart,  which  is  the  great  central  organ 


84  LECTURES    ON   THE 

concerned  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  is,  as  you 
will  observe,  situated  much  higher  in  the  cavity  of  the 
chest  than  is  generally  supposed,  from  the  fact  that  its 
pulsations  are  felt  on  the  left  side.  If  you  will  open 
your  right  hand  and  place  the  ends  of  your  fingers 
upon  the  left  side  of  the  chest,  where  you  feel  the  pul- 
sations of  the  heart,  and  then  let  your  wrist  point  to- 
wards your  right  shoulder,  your  hand  will  then  cover 
the  position  of  your  heart.  It  lies  diagonally  across 
the  chest,  with  its  apex  directed  towards  the  left  side 
and  its  base  towards  the  right  shoulder.  Through  the 
lamentable  want  of  information  which  prevails  in 
reference  to  the  proper  location  of  this  vital  organ, 
some  most  ludicrous  mistakes  are  made  by  invalids. 
Not  long  since  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  Green  Isle 
called  upon  me,  professionally,  saying,  as  she  entered 
my  office,  "  Och !  Doctor  dear,  I  have  got  sich  an  im- 
pression at  my  heart !  "  and  at  the  same  time  pressing 
her  left  side  with  both  her  hands  (A  laugh.)  Upon 
inquiry,  I  soon  learned  that  she  had  eaten  too  freely  of 
"  cod-fish  and  praties."  (Applause.) 

You  will  not  fail  to  observe  the  close  connection  be- 
tween the  heart  and  the  stomach.  The  apex  of  the 
heart  is  only  separated  from  the  stomach  by  the  walls 
of  the  diaphragm  or  midriff,  and  both  organs  are  sup- 
plied with  branches  from  the  same  nerves ;  and  hence 
the  intimate  sympathy  which  exists  between  the  stom- 
ach and  the  heart.  When  the  stomach  is  diseased  or 
deranged,  its  disease  is  reflected  along  these  nerves  to 
the  heart,  causing  palpitation,  determination  of  blood 
to  the  head,  apoplexy  and  sudden  death.  More  dis- 
ease of  the  heart  is  produced  from  derangements  of 


PHILOSOPHY   OP   LIFE.  85 

the  stomach  than  from  all  other  causes  combined ;  and 
hence  the  necessity  of  persons  predisposed  to  these 
affections  paying  particular  attention  to  their  diet  and 
to  the  laws  which  regulate  the  healthy  action  of  the 
digestive  system.  The  heart  is  invested  with  the  peri- 
cardium or  heart-case,  which  serves  the  purpose  of 
fastening  the  base  of  the  organ  to  the  spinal  column, 
and  maintaining  its  proper  position,  while  at  the  same 
time  its  lining  surface  secretes  a  serous  fluid  which 
lubricates  the  exterior  surface  of  the  heart,  and  pre- 
vents the  occurrence  of  friction  from  its  constant  pul- 
sations. 

The  heart  is  about  six  inches  in  length  and  four 
inches  in  diameter.  It  is  composed  of  numerous  bands 
of  fleshy  substance  or  muscular  fibres,  which  are  dis- 
tributed in  different  directions,  crossing  each  other  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  enable  them  to  contract  with  great 
force  and  power  upon  the  column  of  blood  contained 
in  its  chambers  and  vessels. 

If  we  open  this  beautiful  organ,  we  shall  observe  that 
it  contains  four  distinct  chambers ;  two  of  which  are 
situated  in  the  right  side  and  two  in  the  left.  The 
right  side  of  the  heart  is  connected  with  the  veins,  and 
contains  the  dark,  impure  and  venous  blood.  Its  walls 
are  much  thinner  than  those  of  the  left  side,  and  it  is  con- 
tinually engaged  in  forcing  the  blood  into  the  lungs  on 
each  side  of  the  heart,  while  the  left  side  is  continually 
forcing  the  blood  upwards  into  the  head  and  arms,  and 
downwards  into  the  lower  extremities.  In  this  beautiful 
mechanical  arrangement  we  have  displayed  the  most 
beautiful  adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  showing  the 
necessity  of  a  great  superior  and  controlling  intelli- 


86  LECTURES   ON   THE 

gence  in  its  formation.  Nature,  indeed,  is  always 
economical  of  material,  and  in  no  part  of  the  system 
of  man  do  we  find  organs,  except  we  have  the  evidence 
of  design  in  the  adaptation  of  these  organs  to  their 
functions,  displaying  the  intelligence  and  power  of  the 
divinity,  and  leading  the  human  mind,  as  it  investigates 
and  reflects  upon  them,  almost  imperceptibly,  through 
nature  up  to  nature's  God.  If  we  examine  the  cham- 
bers of  the  heart,  we  shall  find  a  funnel-shaped  open- 
ing or  valve  situated  between  them,  in  such  manner  as 
to  open  and  shut  when  the  blood  is  forced  by  the  con- 
tractions of  the  heart  from  one  chamber  to  the  other. 
These  valves  are  composed  of  thin,  transparent  and 
flexible  membranes  of  a  silvery  whiteness,  and  open 
and  shut  every  time  the  heart  beats  or  contracts. 
Sometimes,  in  old  people,  and  especially  those  who 
have  had  frequent  attacks  of  muscular  rheumatism, 
these  valves  become  ossified,  or  converted  into  bone, 
inducing  disease  of  the  heart  and  great  derangement 
of  the  circulation  of  the  blood. 

Having  called  your  attention  to  the  nature  of  the 
apparatus  concerned  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  it 
remains  still  further  for  me  to  explain  to  you  its  func- 
tions and  mode  of  operation.  The  veins  which  arise 
in  the  head  and  arms  finally  terminate  in  one  large 
vein,  called  the  descending  vena  cava ;  while  the  veins 
from  the  feet  and  lower  extremities  terminate  in  an- 
other large  vein,  situated  in  the  abdominal  cavity, 
called  the  ascending  vena  cava.  These  two  large  veins, 
containing  all  of  the  dark,  impure,  or  venous  blood, 
terminate  in  the  right  upper  chamber  of  the  heart. 
As  the  right  upper  chamber  of  the  heart  opens,  it  re- 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  87 

ceives  two  ounces  of  this  dark  blood  at  a  time,  and 
forces  it  down  through  the  valve  into  the  lower  cham- 
ber. The  valve  then  closes,  and  the  right  lower  cham- 
ber of  the  heart  forces  the  black  blood  out,  through 
the  pulmonary  artery,  into  the  lungs,  where  it  is  puri- 
fied and  changes  its  color.  It  will  be  seen,  from 
observation,  that  the  right  side  of  the  heart  is  only 
concerned  in  circulating  and  sending  the  dark  blood 
to  the  lungs.  The  left  upper  chamber  of  the  heart 
opens  and  receives  the  red  arterial  blood  from  the 
lungs,  through  the  pulmonary  veins,  and  forces  it 
down,  through  the  left  valve,  into  the  left  lower  cham- 
ber, which,  in  turn,  forces  it  out  through  the  great 
aorta  and  its  numerous  branches,  to  all  parts  of  the 
body.  Thus  you  will  observe -that  the  heart  forces  the 
blood  out  through  the  arteries  to  the  different  parts  of 
the  body,  while  it  returns  through  the  corresponding 
veins  to  the  heart  again.  The  force  or  power  of  the 
human  heart  is  estimated  to  equal  from  forty  to  sixty 
pounds.  It  may  be  compared  to  a  kind  of  hydraulic 
engine,  continually  forcing  the  blood  out  through  the 
main  artery  and  its  numerous  branches;  and  if  any 
of  these  branches  should  be  accidentally  cut  or  divided, 
all  of  the  blood  contained  in  the  arteries  would  be 
forced  out  through  the  opening,  producing  death. 
Now,  as  such  accidents  are  continually  occurring  in 
different  parts  of  this  country,  and  as  death  frequently 
takes  place  from  the  hemorrhage,  it  becomes  a  matter 
of  the  highest  interest  and  importance  for  us  to  acquire 
a  knowledge  of  the  means  of  stopping  bleeding,  in 
case  of  the  accidental  injury  of  our  bodies.  Igno- 
rance upon  this  subject  is  the  more  inexcusable,  inas- 


88  LECTURES   ON   THE 

much  as  such  knowledge  is  so  easily  acquired  in  a 
short  period  of  time !  If  you  examine  the  heart,  you 
will  observe  that  it  gives  off  only  one  large  artery, 
which  bends  around  over  the  top  of  this  organ,  form- 
ing a  beautiful  arch;  and  from  this  arch  you  will 
observe  two  branches  ascending  the  neck,  towards  the 
head  and  face.  These  branches  arise  from  this  arch, 
in  front  of  the  root  of  the  neck,  and  wind  around  it 
as  they  ascend  towards  the  ear,  where  they  divide  into 
two  principal  branches,  one  of  which  enters  the  crani- 
um or  skull,  to  nourish  the  brain,  and  the  other 
ascends  just  in  front  of  the  ear,  and  separates  into 
several  branches,  which  are  distributed  to  the  parts  on 
each  side  of  the  head.  Now  if  any  of  you  have  fully 
come  to  the  determination  of  cutting  your  own  throats, 
I  hope  you  will  not  do  it  so  clumsily  as  the  great  ma- 
jority do,  by  cutting  immediately  under  your  chin,  in 
front,  -for,  as  you  see,  it  is  a  long  distance  back  to  the 
ear,  where  the  arteries  are,  and  you  would  make  an 
ugly  wound  without  doing  yourself  much  harm !  Now 
don't  suppose  for  an  instant  that  I  want  you  to  cut 
your  own  throats  merely  for  the  sake  of  pleasing  me, 
but  if  you  are  determined  to  do  such  a  disagreeable 
and  foolish  act,  you  should  cut  lower  down,  and  it 
wont  hurt  near  so  bad.  (Great  laughter.)  But  don't 
suppose  for  a  moment  that  I  am  going  to  encourage 
people  to  commit  suicide ;  on  the  contrary,  I  am 
going  to  prevent  it  by  diffusing  anatomical  informa- 
tion. None  but  a  foolish  or  an  insane  man  would  ever 
think  of  destroying  his  existence  by  violence.  Physi- 
cians know  too  much,  and  not  too  little,  to  commit 
suicide ! 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  89 

If  you  wish  to  arrest  the  hemorrhage  from  any  of 
the  small  arterial  branches  above  the  ear,  on  each  side 
of  the  head,  you  must  place  your  finger,  or  any  hard 
substance,  upon  the  main  artery,  in  front  of  the  ear, 
on  the  side  that  is  injured,  and  press  against  the  blood 
vessel.  In  this  way  you  will  stop  the  circulation  to 
the  parts  above,  and  arrest  the  bleeding. 

In  the  same  way,  bleeding  may  be  stopped  from 
any  of  the  small  arteries  below  the  eye,  on  each  side  of 
the  face.  All  of  these  small  arteries  that  are  distrib- 
uted to  the  outside  of  the  nose,  the  lips,  and  muscles 
of  the  face,  spring  from  one  main  artery,  that  passes 
up  over  the  under  jaw,  about  half  way  from  its  angle 
to  the  point  of  the  chin.  If  you  place  a  penny  upon 
the  surface  of  the  skin,  over  the  jaw,  as  above  indica- 
ted, and  press  gently  against  it  with  your  thumb  and 
finger,  you  will  speedily  arrest  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  through  this  artery,  and,  of  course,  control  the 
hemorrhage  from  the  parts  above. 

If  you  examine  the  anatomy  of  the  arm,  you  will 
ascertain  that  all  of  the  blood  which  is  distributed  to 
the  muscles  of  the  fore-arm,  the  wrist,  hands  and 
fingers,  passes  through  one  main  artery,  which  curves 
around  beneath  the  collar  bone,  and  makes  its  appear- 
ance beneath  the  skin  and  cellular  tissue,  on  the  inside 
of  the  arm,  six  inches  below  the  external  extremity  of 
the  collar  bone,  where  it  may  be  felt  pulsating  like  the 
artery  at  the  wrist.  If  you  accidentally  injure  your 
fingers,  hand,  or  wrist,  or  any  of  the  parts  below  the 
elbow,  you  may  stop  the  bleeding  by  pressing  gently 
against  this  main  artery. 

You  will  also  observe  that  the  large  abdominal  aorta 


90  LECTURES    ON   THE 

divides  into  two  large  branches,  which  descend  to  the 
lower  extremities,  where  they  divide  and  subdivide  in- 
to a  great  number  of  very  small  branches,  which  are 
distributed  to  the  toes,  the  instep,  the  ankle,  &c.  If 
you  cut  your  foot,  or  injure  any  of  these  numerous 
arterial  branches  below  the  knee,  the  flow  of  blood 
may  be  arrested  by  gentle  pressure  upon  this  large 
artery,  which  may  be  felt  immediately  beneath  the  skin, 
on  the  inside  of  the  thigh,  where  it  escapes  from  the 
abdominal  cavity. 

It  is  a  much  easier  task  for  the  youngest  boys  and 
girls  in  this  audience  to  learn  the  positions  of  the 
principal  blood  vessels  in  their  systems,  and  thus  be 
enabled  to  control  hemorrhage,  in  case  of  accident, 
than  it  is  for  them  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  prin- 
cipal rivers  which  run  through  the  United  States; 
and  which  do  you  think  would  be  of  the  greatest 
practical  importance — to  know  one's  self,  or  to  know 
all  about  the  State  of  Ohio,  or  the  various  States  of  the 
American  Union  ?  Is  it  not  passing  strange  that  such 
practical  information,  so  easily  obtained,  should  so 
long  have  been  neglected  by  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind; especially,  when  it  is  remembered  that  there  is 
no  knowledge  which  adds  so  much  dignity  to  the  hu- 
man mind  and  heart  as  self-knowledge!  Not  long 
since,  a  young  lad,  the  son  of  a  poor  widow  woman, 
residing  in  a  distant  part  of  the  county  of  Philadelphia, 
was  returning  to  his  home  from  the  High  School  un- 
der the  charge  of  Professor  Hart,  where  he  had  been 
taught  the  principles  of  human  physiology ;  and  as  he 
was  walking  along  the  road,  his  attention  was  attracted 
by  the  cries  of  distress  which  came  from  a  number  of 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  91 

Irishmen  that  were  engaged  in  making  an  excavation 
for  building  purposes.  Upon  inquiring  what  was  the 
cause  of  their  distress,  he  soon  learned  that  a  large 
stone  had  fallen  down  from  above  and  cut  off  the  ar- 
teries in  the  wrist  of  one  of  their  comrades,  and  he 
was  bleeding  to  death.  Nothing  daunted,  this  intrepid 
young  lad  stepped  forward  and  immediately  grasped 
his  arm  and  pressed  upon  the  main  artery,  and 
stopped  the  bleeding  from  the  wound  immediately, 
as  if  it  had  been  touched  by  the  magician's  wand. 
(Applause.)  When  they  saw  that  the  young  man  had 
saved  the  life  of  their  comrade,  they  were  almost  ready 
to  worship  him,  declaring  that  he  was  an  angel  sent 
down  from  heaven  !  Such,  my  friends,  is  the  awe  and 
respect  which  the  possession  of  true  knowledge  pro- 
duces in  the  uninformed  mind.  Even  the  untutored 
savage  looks  with  wonder  and  amazement  upon  the 
philosopher  who,  by  means  of  superior  knowledge,  is 
enabled  to  control  the  elements,  and  thus  produce  the 
results  which  he  desires. 

If  we  examine  the  blood,  by  the  agency  of  a  micro- 
scope, we  shall  find  that  it  contains  numerous  small 
circular  disks,  called  blood  corpuscles,  which  contain 
a  considerable  quantity  of  iron  in  their  centres,  enabling 
them  to  become  the  vehicles  for  the  introduction  of 
oxygen  and  the  expulsion  of  carbonic  acid  gas  from  the 
system.  It  is  a  well  known  chemical  fact,  that  iron  has 
a  strong  affinity  for  oxygen,  which  soon  converts  it 
into  the  red  oxide  or  rust  of  iron.  Now  when  these 
small  bodies  are  sent  out  by  the  right  side  of  the  heart, 
with  the  venous  blood,  to  the  lungs,  and  are  brought 
in  contact  with  the  air  which  we  breathe,  the  iron 


92  LECTURES   ON   THE 

which  they  contain  unites  with  the  oxygen  of  the 
atmosphere,  which  changes  its  dark  color  to  a  bright 
red ;  and,  upon  returning  again  to  the  heart,  these  red 
blood  corpuscles  are  distributed  through  the  arteries  to 
all  of  the  different  parts  of  the  human  body.  The 
vital  air,  which  we  respire,  does  not  stop  in  the  lungs, 
but  is  carried  by  these  small  bodies,  contained  in  the 
blood,  to  all  of  the  different  tissues  of  the  system,  for 
the  purpose  of  consuming  their  old  worn  out  particles, 
and  thus  preventing  their  accumulation,  and  at  the 
same  time  producing  the  necessary  supply  of  animal 
heat.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  human  body  is 
a  kind  of  volcano,  continually  on  fire,  and  the  lungs 
and  arteries  are  the  ventilators  and  flues  through  which 
the  air  is  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  fanning  its 
smouldering  embers.  But,  you  will  say,  if  this  is  true, 
why  is  it  that  the  system  does  not  explode  and  burn 
up  1  The  answer  is,  because  the  ventilators  are  not 
large  enough  to  let  in  sufficient  air.  If  they  were, 
the  body  would  ignite  and  burn  up  in  a  few  moments. 
If  you  kindle  a  fire  in  a  furnace  and  close  the  damper, 
the  fire  burns  slowly;  but  if  you  attach  the  bel- 
lows and  blow  in  a  steady  stream  of  fresh  air,  the  fire 
burns  brilliantly  and  produces  the  most  intense  heat  ; 
and  so,  also,  with  the  human  body.  If  you  breathe 
fast,  and  introduce  great  quantities  of  air  through 
your  lungs,  the  heat  of  the  body  is  increased  in  a  cor- 
responding ratio.  All  of  the  oily  and  sweet  food  which 
we  eat  from  time  to  time,  is  not  used  to  make  bone  and 
flesh,  but  simply  as  fuel  to  supply  these  vital  fires. 
Consequently,  the  more  of  such  food  we  eat,  and  the 
more  exercise  we  take,  the  warmer  the  body  will  be- 


PHILOSOPHY    OF   LIFE.  93 

tome.  The  Esquimaux  and  the  Greenlander  are  com- 
pelled, from  necessity,  to  subsist  upon  the  oil  of  the 
whale  and  the  fat  of  the  polar  bear,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve their  lives  in  those  cold  regions  ;  while  the  same 
food,  if  used  in  this  country,  will  produce  many  inflam- 
matory affections.  During  the  winter  season,  our  ap- 
petites crave  large  quantities  of  fat  meat,  rich  gravies, 
butter,  &c.,  and  who  has  not  noticed  how  the  stomach 
loathes  the  same  kinds  of  food  during  the  month  of 
August  ] 

"  The  moist  cool  viands,  then,  and  the  flowing  bowl, 
From  the  fresh  dairy  virgin's  liberal  hand, 
Will  save  your  head  from  ache  or  pain, 
Though  round  the  world  the  dreaded  fever 
Rolls  his  wasteful  fires." 

If  you  would,  then,  be  free  from  fevers  and  various 
affections  accompanied  with  inflammation,  which  prove 
so  destructive  to  human  life  during  the  warm  season 
of  the  year,  you  must  avoid  all  gross  food  of  an  oily 
or  saccharine  character,  as  the  use  of  such  diet  will  in- 
crease the  temperature  of  the  body  and  strongly  pre- 
dispose you  to  all  such  affections.  And  again,  if  you 
labor  under  the  influence  of  fever,  accompanied  with 
increased  heat  of  the  body,  you  may  diminish  this  in- 
creased heat  by  eating  only  the  smallest  quantity  of 
bland  food,  like  rice-water,  or  a  little  slippery-elm  tea. 
If  you  continue,  under  such  circumstances,  to  eat  the 
usual  quantity  of  various  kinds  of  food,  you  will  but 
add  fuel  to  the  flames  which  already  consume  you,  and 
hasten  the  rapidity  of  the  advance  of  this  fatal  disease. 
If  your  house  were  on  fire  and  you  wished  to  put  it 
out,  would  you  do  so  by  pouring  oil  on  the  flames  1 


94  LECTURES   ON  THE 

Certainly  not ;  but  you  would  rather  remove  all  com- 
bustible material,  so  as  to  dimmish  the  violence  of  the 
conflagration,  and,  if  possible,  save  the  dwelling ;  and 
so  also  of  the  house  we  live  in.  When  this  fair  fabric 
is  attacked  with  the  flames  of  fever,  all  food  but  adds 
fuel  to  the  raging  conflagration  which  burns  within  us, 
and  abstinence  affords  us  the  only  true  means  of  saving 
the  dwelling  and  curing  the  disease. 

The  human  heart  beats  about  seventy  times  each  min- 
ute, four  thousand  two  hundred  times  an  hour,  and 
about  a  hundred  thousand  times  every  twenty-four 
hours,  during  the  length  of  our  lives.  Every  time  that 
the  heart  beats,  it  forces  out  of  each  of  its  cavities  about 
two  ounces  of  blood,  or  one  hundred  and  forty  ounces 
each  minute,  two  hogsheads  full  an  hour,  and  about 
eight  tons  of  blood  every  twenty-four  hours.  The 
amount  of  blood  contained  in  the  human  body,  is  esti- 
mated to  equal  about  twenty-eight  pounds,  and,  conse- 
quently, it  all  passes  through  the  heart  once  in  two 
minutes  and  a  half. 

The  heart  is,  in  many  respects,  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting organs  of  the  human  body.  The  ingenuity  and 
skill  displayed  in  its  formation  will  excite  the  wonder 
and  admiration  of  the  most  profound  philosopher.  Its 
untiring  industry,  and  the  amount  of  labor  which  it 
performs  during  the  period  of  three  score  years  and  ten, 
will  almost  exceed  the  bounds  of  human  credulity. 
And  yet,  strange  to  say,  it  never  stops  to  sleep  or  rest, 
but  labors  both  night  and  day.  How  vastly  superior 
in  this  respect  it  is  to  any  machinery  which  is  the  re- 
sult of  mere  human  ingenuity!  It  is  also  frequently 
in  poetical  language,  spoken  of  as  the  seat  of  the  aflec 

V 


PHILOSOPHY   OF    LIFE.  95 

tions,  for  the  reason  that  many  of  our  mental  and  moral 
feelings  and  sympathies  seem  to  expend  their  chief  in- 
fluence upon  this  organ. 

The  Bible  speaks  of  the  heart  of  man  as  being 
"  desperately  wicked,"  &c.,  but  this  observation,  in  my 
opinion,  does  not  refer ,,to  man's  carnal,  but  to  his  spir- 
itual heart.  Our  spiritual  heart  is  the  center  of  our 
feelings,  while  our  carnal  heart  is  incapable  of  any 
sensation  whatever,  and  is  only  useful  to  circulate 
the  blood.  Some  of  our  mental  emotions,  or  pas- 
sions and  sympathies,  appear  to  expend  their  chief 
influence  upon  one  organ,  and  some  upon  the  other 
organs  of  the  human  body.  We  read  of  "  the  breath- 
lessness  of  despair,"  and  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures  of  the 
heart  leaping  for  joy,  and  the  bowels  of  compassion, 
&c.  Anger,  jealousy  and  revenge,  exhaust  and  depress 
the  action  of  the  heart  and  arteries,  and  thus  become 
the  cause  of  many  fatal  maladies  ! 

Observe  but  for  a  moment,  the  form  and  features  of 
him  whose  constitution  is  convulsed  with  all  of  the 
fierce  passions  of  those  demons,  anger  and  revenge ! 
How  his  skin  withers  and  his  countenance  pales,  as 
the  blood  recedes  from  the  surface  and  sinks  into  the 
deep  seated  organs,  engorging  the  heart  and  lungs, 
rupturing  their  delicate  tissues,  and  frequently  produc- 
ing sudden  death ;  or  by  the  frequent  recurrence  of 
these  passions,  finally  inducing  chronic  organic  diseases 
of  a  painful  character,  and  fatal  tendency !  Says  Dr. 
James  Johnson :  "  The  nature  of  many  of  the  mala- 
dies of  the  body,  clearly  illustrates  the  mental  and 
moral  causes  from  which  so  many  of  them  have  sprung. 
Thus  the  brain  or  organ  of  the  mind  being  kept  in  a 


96  LECTURES   ON  THE 

state  of  over-exertion  or  over-excitement,  by  emulation 
competition,  anger,  anxiety,  tribulation  and  sorrow, 
naturally  exhibits  the  effects  of  such  a  condition  in 
its  own  functions  or  in  the  functions  of  other  organs 
with  which  it  is  linked  in  the  closest  bonds  of  sympa- 
thy. 

The  fury  of  politics,  the  hazards  and  anxieties  of 
commerce  —  the  jealousies,  envies,  and  rivalries  of  the 
professions  —  the  struggles  and  contentions  of  trade  — 
the  privations,  discontents,  and  despair  of  poverty  — 
to  which  might  perhaps  be  added  the  terrors  of  super- 
stition, and  the  hatred  of  sectarianism :  these  are  the 
chief  foundations  of  our  moral  ills,  and  these  mental 
perturbations  induce,  directly  and  indirectly,  a  large 
proportion  of  the  diseases  of  the  body  ! 

Diseases  of  the  heart  were  so  little  attended  to  pre- 
vious to  the  old  French  revolution,  as  to  be  scarcely 
noticed  by  medical  writers.  The  portentous  scenes  oi 
that  eventful  period  called  forth  such  a  multitude  oi 
examples  of  that  fatal  disease,  that  a  volume  was  soon 
written  on  the  subject,  by  Corvisart ;  and  the  menta] 
excitation  which  has  continued  ever  since,  has  perpet- 
uated the  tendency  to  affections  of  this  organ,  which 
are  now  among  the  most  prominent  and  dreadful  oi 
human  afflictions  !  In  a  democratic  republic,  so  full  oi 
incentives  to  action,  and  rewards  for  achievement,  the 
emulation  of  youth  gradually  slides  into  the  ambition 
of  manhood.  That  which  was  in  early  life  only  a  laud- 
able desire  to  excel  in  literature,  the  arts  and  sciences ; 
if  not  carefully  repressed,  becomes  in  manhood  a  pas- 
sion for  outstripping  and  eclipsing  our  neighbors  ir 
rank,  wealth,  estimation,  power,  and  all  the  thousand 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  97 

objects  and  pursuits  of  ambition !  These  passions  and 
feelings  were,  no  doubt,  wisely  conferred  upon  man, 
though  too  often  unwisely  exercised,  and  have  been 
differently  viewed  by  different  philosophers.  By  some, 
they  have  been  deduced  from  heaven  itself,  and  repre- 
sented as  glowing  in  the  breasts  of  kings  and  heroes. 
These,  however,  were  not  the  sentiments  of  a  man  who 
climbed  its  giddy  heights  — fathomed  its  treacherous 
depths  —  and  tasted  its  dangerous  sweets  ! 

"  Cromwell !  I  charge  thee  fling  away  ambition  ! 
By  that  sin  the  angels  fell !" 

The  hero  of  Macedon  found  the  reward  of  his  ambi- 
tion in  the  Granicus,  Hannibal  in  exile,  Caesar  in  the 
senate,  Sidney  on  the  scaffold  !  And  Sweden's  "  mad 
monarch  "  touched  the  goal  of  his  ambition  at  Pulto- 
wa — Wolsey  in  disgrace,  and  Napoleon  in  captivity! 

Ten  thousand  illustrious  victims  of  ambition  might 
be  cited,  whose  shades  might  possibly  be  soothed  by 
the  celebrity  of  their  fates ;  but  who  could  number  the 
myriads  who  have  fallen  sacrifices  to  passion,  without 
the  consolation  of  sympathy  from  friends,  or  the  honor 
of  a  record  in  history  !  In  every  gradation  of  society, 
from  the  minister  who  steers  the  vessel  of  state,  down 
to  the  reckless  driver  of  the  cab  or  the  omnibus,  ambi- 
tion, in  one  or  another  of  its  protean  shapes,  is  the 
ruling  passion,  which  too  often  destroys  the  body,  and 
endangers  the  soul ! 

But  again:  it  affords  me  the  greatest  pleasure,  as  a 
physician,  to  be  able  to  testify  to  you  that  the  habitual 
exercise  of  all  of  the  moral  sentiments,  exerts  a  benign 
and  soothing  influence  upon  the  physical  constitution 
of  man,  and  tends  to  prolong  his  existence  to  a  green 
7 


98  LECTURES   ON   THE 

old  age.  Under  the  influence  of  the  habitual  exercise 
of  these  kindly  emotions,  the  heart  leaps  for  joy,  and 
sends  the  blood  with  a  thrill  of  rapture  into  all  of  the 
minute  blood-vessels  of  the  system.  Who,  indeed,  has 
not  felt  that  glow  of  pleasure  and  satisfaction  which 
follows  the  act  of  charity  1  It  is  such  a  spirit  and  con- 
duct as  this,  which  blesses  the  giver  as  well  as  the 
receiver!  Cultivate,  then,  the  sentiments  of  venera- 
tion, benevolence,  love,  hope,  charity,  and  the  kindest 
feelings  towards  all  mankind. 

The  vigorous  and  healthy  action  of  the  organs  con- 
cerned in  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  is  indispensable 
to  the  maintenance  of  our  highest  physical,  mental, 
and  moral  powers.  The  blood  is  the  vital  and  nutri- 
tive fluid  which  stimulates  all  of  the  different  organs 
to  perform  their  appropriate  functions.  If  we  com- 
press the  main  artery  which  carries  the  blood  into  the 
arm  and  hand,  these  parts  wither  and  decay.  If  we 
diminish  the  amount  of  blood  sent  to  the  brain,  this 
organ  dries  and  withers,  and  the  mental  and  moral 
powers  decline  in  a  corresponding  ratio !  And  hence 
it  becomes  a  matter  of  the  greatest  interest  and  impor- 
tance for  us  to  understand  the  laws  which  regulate  its 
healthy  action. 

1st.  It  is  a  natural  law,  that  compression  of  the 
chest  diminishes  the  action  of  the  heart,  and  impedes 
the  circulation  of  the  blood !  If  you  will  examine  the 
bony  frame-work  of  the  chest,  you  will  observe  its  great 
delicacy  and  susceptibility  of  compression.  Now  the 
heart  and  lungs,  as  you  will  observe,  are  so  arranged 
as  accurately  and  closely  to  fill  every  part  of  its  inter- 
nal cavity  ;  and  if  the  dress  fits  closely  to  the  ribs,  and 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  99 

is  lined  with  inelastic  brown  linen,  and  filled  with 
pieces  of  whalebone  or  hickory  wood,  it  forces  the  ribs 
in  against  the  lungs,  diminishing  the  size  of  the  cavity 
of  the  chest,  and  impeding  the  freedom  of  the  motions 
of  the  heart.  If  the  great  majority  of  our  fashionable 
belles  and  beaux,  could  look  down  beneath  this  mass 
of  bones  and  buckram  forming  the  waist  of  a  dress 
made  in  the  latest  style,  and  witness  the  struggles  of 
the  heart  to  perform  its  appropriate  functions,  it  would 
fill  them  with  well-founded  alarm  for  its  fatal  conse- 
quences ! 

Observe,  if  you  please,  for  a  moment,  the  ribs  of  this 
natural  chest,  while  I  press  with  my  hands  against 
them,  in  imitation  of  the  influence  which  is  produced 
by  the  close-fitting  garment.  What,  think  you,  must 
be  the  awful  consequences  of  diminishing  the  size  of 
the  cavity  of  the  chest,  which  is  filled  with  your  vital 
organs  ?  Can  it  be  possible  that  such  habits  should 
fail  to  produce  pulmonary  engorgements,  consumption, 
and  premature  death1? 

The  amount  of  pain,  disease,  and  human  suffering 
which  is  produced  by  this  foolish  fashion,  can  scarcely 
be  imagined  except  by  those  whose  calling  renders  it 
necessary  for  them  to  be  familiar  with  diseases  and 
their  causes.  The  heart  dilates  and  contracts,  or  opens 
and  shuts,  every  time  it  beats  or  pulsates ;  and  if  the 
ribs  are  forced  inwards  against  it,  the  effect  must  be  to 
enfeeble  its  powers  of  action,  and  diminish  the  vitality 
of  all  of  the  different  organs  of  the  body. 

How  often  you  have  noticed  its  blighting  and  with- 
ering influence  upon  the  vital  functions  and  voluntary 
powers,  in  churches  and  fashionable  assemblies,  where 


100  LECTURES   ON  THE 

the  chests  of  the  fairer  portion  of  humanity  were  clad, 
not  in  steel  armor,  but  in  the  habiliments  and  trappings 
of  fashion,  depressing  and  diminishing  the  action  of  the 
heart  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render  it  incapable  of  trans- 
mitting a  sufficient  amount  of  blood  upwards  to  the  base 
of  the  brain,  to  maintain  the  voluntary  powers;  causing 
them,  in  many  instances,  to  faint  and  fall  upon  the  floor! 
Now,  all  of  the  good  old  ladies  in  this  assembly  under- 
stand the  cause  of  this  fainting  as  well  as  I  do;  and  you 
will  generally  see  them,  when  such  accidents  occur, 
seize  the  young  lady  under  each  arm,  and  hurry  her  out 
of  the  meeting-house,  at  the  same  time  glancing  around 
slyly,  to  see  if  any  of  the  young  men  are  watching  them 
to  ascertain  what  is  the  matter ;  and  the  moment  they 
get  behind  the  door,  the  way  the  strings  and  the  hooks 
and  eyes  fly (tumultuous  applause.)     These  fash- 
ionable ladies  that  dress  too  tightly  may  always  be 
known  in  any  church,  because  it  makes  them  so  weak 
that  they  cannot  stand  up  until  the  prayers  are  through 
without  fainting,  and  consequently  they  are  compelled 
to  sit  down,  as  they  become  exhausted.     Now,  is  it  not 
monstrous  blasphemy,  that  human  beings  should  go  up 
to  the  temple  of  worship  of  the  living  God,  with  chests 
dressed  so  tightly  that  their  eyes  stick  out  like  cups 
and  saucers,  from  the  danger  of  suffocation]     (Great 
applause  and  sensation.)     What,  think  you,  must  be 
the  influence  of  this  habit,  when  long  continued,  upon 
the  moral,  physical,  and  intellectual  powers  of  woman? 
The  mind  and  the  moral  sentiments  are  not  independent 
of  matter,  during  this  life,  and  until  they  become  so, 
we  must  beware  of  all  those  fashions  and  habits  which 
enslave  but  to  destroy  this  beautiful  temple  of  the  living 
soul! 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  101 

It  is  a  fact  not  well  understood  by  the  votary  of 
fashion  and  folly,  that  whatever  diminishes  the  powers 
of  the  human  heart,  also  diminishes  the  amount  of 
blood  sent  up  to  the  base  of  the  brain,  and  consequent- 
ly, that  small  waists  and  small  brains  are  most  inti- 
mately associated  with  each  other !  (Sensation  and 
applause.)  Examine  the  long  catalogue  of  female  poets, 
philanthropists,  and  scholars — those  who  have  written 
works  that  have  rendered  their  names  illustrious,  and 
have  twined  around  the  brow  of  woman  the  halo  of 
glory  —  such  as  the  works  of  a  Madame  de  Stael,  Mrs 
Cook,  Lady  Blessington,  Mrs.  Hemans,  Mrs.  Sigourney, 
and  others  equally  distinguished  —  works  that  shall 
live  so  long  as  time  shall  last,  as  proud  monuments  to 
the  genius,  beauty,  and  goodness  of  woman.  If  you 
will  examine  the  busts  and  portraits  of  these  illustrious 
women,  you  will  find  nothing  of  that  delicate  imbecility 
and  beautiful  weakness  so  characteristic  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  modern  fashion  and  folly!  They  all  had  large 
hearts,  and  "  great  coarse  waists "  to  contain  them ! 
(Applause.) 

Oh,  I  tell  you,  my  young  friends,  however  lightly 
we  may  think  of  this  subject,  we  are  all  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  woman  ; 
for  it  is  woman  that  determines  the  condition  of  the 
race.  Color,  form,  features,  consumption,  gout,  rheu- 
matism, scrofula,  idiocy  and  insanity  are  all  hereditary. 
They  descend  from  the  mother  to  her  oifspring  —  nor 
human  law  nor  human  device  can  break  the  entailment ! 
Thank  Heaven !  man,  in  his  selfishness  and  power, 
cannot  degrade  woman  without  degrading  himself! 


102  LECTURES   ON  THE 

"  The  woman's  cause  is  man's ; 
They  rise  or  sink  together,  dwarfed  or  god-like, 
Bond  or  free.     If  she  be  slight,  ill-formed,  miserable, 
How  shall  men  grow  ?     We  aid  them  both 
In  aiding  her :  *  * 

*  *  *  the  parasitic  forms 

That  seem  to  keep  her  up,  but  drag  her  down. 

Leave  her  to  bloom 

From  all  within  her  —  make  herself  her  own ; 
To  give  or  keep,  to  do  and  be  all  that  not  harms 
Distinctive  womanhood." 

The  mothers  of  America  must  determine  the  sons  of 
America.  If  they  be  mere  creatures  of  sentiment  arid 
fashion,  their  children  will  be  corresponding  men ! 

2d.  It  is  a  natural  law,  that  the  habitual  exercise  of 
all  of  our  physical,  moral  and  mental  powers,  stimulates 
the  heart  and  arteries,  and  promotes  the  healthy  circu- 
lation of  the  blood. 

If  we  recline  in  a  horizontal  position  upon  a  mattress, 
the  heart  beats  slowly ;  and  hence  this  is  the  proper 
position  for  all  of  us  to  assume  in  febrile  affections, 
attended  with  vascular  excitement.  If  we  sit  or  stand, 
the  heart  beats  faster,  and  if  we  walk,  run,  or  labor, 
the  number  of  its  pulsations  is  increased  in  proportion 
to  the  activity  of  the  body. 

The  habitual  exercise  of  all  of  our  intellectual  facul- 
ties and  moral  sentiments,  determines  the  blood  towards 
.  the  head,  which  stimulates  and  develops  the  brain,  and 
promotes  the  healthy  action  of  the  nervous  system. 
Observe  but  for  a  moment  the  influence  of  feeling, 
thought,  sensation,  and  passion,  as  you  comtemplate 
the  orator  and  poet,  who*, 

"  With  lips  tipped  with  the  fires  of  Heaven," 
pours  forth  his  thoughts  in  words  of  burning  eloquence! 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  103 

How  the  large  blood-vessels  upon  his  forehead  and 
temples  are  distended  with  hot  and  generous  blood, 
stimulating  and  arousing  all  the  dormant  energies  of 
the  human  mind ! 

Man  is  indeed  the  creature  of  action.  From  the 
period  of  his  birth  until  he  disappears  from  the  stage 
of  life,  the  various  organs  of  his  body  exhibit  one  con- 
tinuous round  of  busy  employment,  and  however  un- 
pleasant it  may  be  to  the  indolent,  still  they  must  learn 
that  there  is  no  excellence  which  can  be  secured, 
either  physical,  moral  or  mental,  but  by  unceasing  ex- 
ertion !  Who,  indeed,  discovered  this  vast  continent 
— who  spread  beneath  these  western  forests,  the  peace- 
ful hamlet  of  the  husbandman,  but  the  hardy  and  ad- 
venturous ]  Who  rear  these  western  cities  as  if  by 
the  influence  of  enchantment  ]  Who  have  constructed 
these  magnificent  temples  of  worship,  and  caused  these 
western  wilds  to  flourish  and  blossom  like  the  rose  ? 
Who  have  covered  the  surface  of  our  numerous  inland 
seas  and  rivers,  with  whitening  sails  of  busy  commerce, 
but  the  active  and  industrious  ]  Again,  look  around 
you,  but  for  a  moment,  and  observe  who  fill  with  credit, 
your  public  offices  of  honor  and  profit  I  Many  of  your 
most  illustrious  citizens  were  but  yesterday  the  sons 
of  poverty  and  toil !  By  their  own  ceaseless  exertions 
they  have  mounted,  step  by  step,  until  they  have 
reached  the  uppermost  round  upon  the  ladder  of  fame. 
By  trimming  again  and  again  the  midnight  lamp,  they 
have  ascended  the  steep  and  rugged  declivities  of  the 
mount  of  science,  and  are  now  reaping  the  rich  reward 
of  their  industry  in  the  honor  and  applause  of  their 
countrymen !  What  they  have  done  can  also  be  ac- 
complished by  you. 


104  LECTURES   ON   THE 

"In  the  lexicon  of  youth, 

Which  fate  has  reserved  for  a  bright  and  glorious  manhood, 
There  is  no  such  word  as  fail!  " 

Idleness  and  indolence,  are  indeed,  the  greatest 
physical,  mental  and  moral  curses.  They  are  the  pale 
and  withering  pestilence  which  dries  up  the  fountain 
of  life  and  envelops  the  noblest  sentiments  and  facul- 
ties of  man  in  an  impenetrable  cloud  of  darkness ! 

Poets  and  metaphysicians  may  talk  of  genius  and 
the  innate  powers  of  the  human  mind ;  but  that  quali- 
ty which  renders  one  man  more  successful  than  anoth- 
er, is  the  genius  of  industry  which  overcomes  all  obsta- 
cles and  accomplishes  all  results  !  (Applause.) 

3d.  It  is  a  natural  law,  that  the  purification  of  the 
blood  depends  upon  the  healthy  action  of  the  skin, 
lungs  and  various  secreting  organs  ! 

It  is  the  prevailing  opinion,  among  the  great  masses 
of  mankind,  that  many  of  the  diseases  which  humani- 
ty is  heir  to,  are  produced  by  impurities  of  the  blood, 
for  the  removal  of  which,  immense  quantities  of  medi- 
cine are  taken  in  this  country,  producing  a  vast 
amount  of  human  suffering.  So  extensively  prevalent 
is  this  foolish  idea,  that  the  blood  is  cleansed  and  puri- 
fied by  means  of  roots  and  herbs,  that  a  swarm  of 
hungry  wolves,  in  sheep's  clothing,  have  not  scrupled 
to  avail  themselves  of  it  in  order  to  deceive  and  rob 
the  uninformed.  Indeed  the  aggregate  amount  of 
patent  medicines,  all  purporting  to  cleanse  and  purify 
the  blood,  which  are  made  in  our  principal  cities  and 
distributed  throughout  the  land  by  means  of  numer- 
ous agents,  would,  if  collected  together,  exceed  the 
bounds  of  human  credibility !  From  the  shores  of  the 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  105 

Atlantic  to  the  golden  sands  of  the  Pacific,  these 
numerous  agents  may  be  seen  busily  wending  their 
way,  some  in  splendid  equipages,  stopping  only  at  the 
principal  towns  to  deposit  their  loathsome  poisons, 
falsely  labeled  Balsams  and  Elixirs  of  Life,  Indian 
Vegetable  Pills,  and  Panaceas,  &c.,  while  others,  in 
more  humble  circumstances,  walk  basket  in  hand, 
calling  upon  the  inhabitants  from  house  to  house, 
leaving,  whenever  they  can  get  permission  to  do  so, 
their  infernal  preparations,  requesting  the  people  to 
try  them,  and  if  they  don't  like  them  they  will  call  and 
get  them  again,  during  the  next  year.  They  dont  say 
who  will  bury  the  dead  if  the  medicines  happen  to  kill 
them!  (a  laugh) — or  perhaps  they  think,  as  "dead 
men  tell  no  tales,"  there  is  no  danger.  If  one  of  the 
children  gets  an  ache  or  pain,  from  eating  too  much, 
the  mother  is  sure  to  remember  the  Doctor's  pills ;  and 
if  the  child  recovers  after  taking  them,  the  medicine 
is  sure  to  get  the  credit  of  performing  the  cure.  One 
of  these  traveling  pill  peddlers  assurred  me,  not  long 
since,  that  he  should  clear  over  ten  thousand  dollars  a 
year  in  this  way. 

Now  the  profession  themselves  are  responsible  for 
the  prevalence  of  many  of  these  notions,  and  for  the 
spread  of  this  quackery,  imposition  and  deception. 
Indeed  they  have  long  taught  the  people  that  their 
blood  was  too  thick  and  impure,  and  that  it  must  be 
thinned  and  cleansed  by  bleeding  and  taking  physic, 
especially  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  I  remember  very 
well,  when  I  was  a  young  rogue,  how  my  parents  used 
to  hold  my  nose  to  make  me  take  molasses  and  sulphur 
every  spring,  because  "  the  Doctor  said  it  was  good 


106  LECTURES   ON   THE 

for  the  blood!"  (Applause.)  But  somehow  or  other, 
those  children  who  took  the  most  medicine  were  always 
unwell !  Now  if  we  undertake  to  inform  these  medi- 
cal wiseacres  of  the  danger  of  following  such  advice, 
they  cry  out,  like  the  high  priests  of  old,  that  the  craft 
is  in  danger,  by  the  spread  of  information  which  teaches 
the  public  how  much  many  of  these  old  medical  gran- 
nies know !  (Applause.) 

The  reason  why  those  children  who  are  constantly 
taking  medicine  are  always  delicate  and  sickly,  will 
not  appear  so  strange,  when  I  explain  the  influence  of 
these  agents  upon  the  human  system. 

Emetics,  when  taken  into  the  stomach,  do  not  purify 
the  blood,  as  many  suppose,  but  act  as  mechanical 
irritants,  often  inducing  inflammation  and  a  long  train 
of  gastric  derangements,  which  are  fatal  in  their  results ! 
At  first,  an  emetic  appears  to  stimulate  the  lining  sur- 
face of  the  stomach,  increasing  its  peristaltic  or  rolling 
motions ;  second,  it  secretes  large  quantities  of  ropy 
mucus,  to  protect  its  lining  surface  from  the  irritating 
and  injurious  effects  of  the  emetic ;  thirdly,  if  the  dose 
is  sufficiently  large,  the  stomach  collects  all  its  ener- 
gies, and  contracts  spasmodically  for  the  purpose  of 
expelling  it  from  the  system ! 

The  use  of  an  emetic,  then,  must,  under  any  and  all 
circumstances,  be  considered  a  serious  evil,  and  only 
justifiable  to  remove  a  greater  evil  —  as  for  instance, 
when  you  eat  and  drink  enough  to  produce  serious  dis- 
ease, or  when  you  swallow  poison,  or  anything  which 
would  endanger  your  life !  The  same  is  true  of  all 
cathartic  pills,  and  panaceas,  and  bitters.  When  taken 
into  the  stomach,  they  exert  an  influence  upon  its  lining 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  107 

surface  analogous  to  that  produced  by  a  blister  when 
applied  to  the  skin,  irritating  and  inflaming  it,  and 
causing  it  to  secrete  large  quantities  of  ropy  mucus, 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  it  from  its  injurious  influ- 
ences. It  is  in  this  way  that  the  system  is  relaxed  or 
debilitated.  In  all  this  confusion  and  turmoil,  pro- 
duced by  the  use  of  physic,  there  is  no  purifying  influ- 
ence exerted  upon  the  blood.  That  wonderful  fluid 
is  purified,  as  you  shall  see  in  my  next  lecture,  by  the 
skin  and  lungs,  and  not  by  the  bowels.  What,  then, 
shall  we  say  of  the  trade  of  these  pill  peddlers  and  em- 
pirics, who,  by  means  of  specious  representations,  and 
the  publication  of  lying  certificates,  succeed  so  well  in 
robbing  the  credulous  and  unsuspecting  invalid  of 
the  scanty  earnings  of  many  a  hard  day's  toil  beneath 
the  burning  rays  of  a  summer's  sun  I  What  shall  we 
say  of  the  wretch  who  deliberately  bottles  up  his  poi- 
sons, knowing  them  to  be  such,  and  sends  them  out 
into  the  community,  who  are  entirely  ignorant  of  their 
nature  and  influence,  merely  for  the  sake  of  amassing 
a  princely  fortune,  to  build  palaces,  and  riot  in  the 
splendors  of  affluence !  Is  it  not  infamous  enough  to 
deal  out  to  healthy  and  strong-minded  men,  that  which 
will  despoil  them  of  their  reason,  and  blunt  their  moral 
sensibilities  ?  And  how  much  more  so  is  the  conduct 
of  the  empiric,  who  would  avail  himself  of  the  weak- 
ness of  the  uninformed,  and  of  the  great  mental  anxiety 
of  the  diseased  and  distressed,  to  raise  fond  hopes  by 
his  false  and  flattering  advertisements,  in  order  that  he 
may  the  more  successfully  deceive  and  destroy ! 

The  great  mass  of  mankind  are  unacquainted  with 
the  restorative  powers  of  the  human  constitution,  and 


108  LECTURES   ON  THE 

hence  their  superstitious  reliance  upon  medicine  for  the 
relief  of  every  ache  and  complaint !  It  is  an  old  apho- 
rism, that  "  Physicians  will  not  take  their  own  reme- 
dies." And  why?  Simply  because  they  are  better 
acquainted  with  themselves,  and  the  nature  and  causes 
of  disease.  It  is  almost  an  invariable  rule,  that  the 
physicians  who  take  the  least  medicine,  give  the  least 
to  their  patients.  Ask  these  Dr.  Moffats,  Townsends, 
Brandreths,  Jaynes,  &c.,  if  they  take  their  own  medi- 
cines, and  you  will  be  astonished  at  their  reply.  When 
physicians  get  sick,  they  stop  eating,  and  rest  until  the 
vital  powers  recover  their  exhausted  energies,  and  the 
wheels  of  weary  life  move  on !  (Sensation.) 

Medicine  has  been  termed  by  Dr.  Johnson,  "the  art 
of  amusing  the  patient,  while  nature  cures  the  disease." 
(Applause.)  Physicians  must  prescribe  a  little  medi- 
cine, in  order  to  retain  the  confidence  of  the  patient 
and  his  friends,  and  give  nature  time  and  opportunity 
to  perform  the  cure!  The  mind  and  moral  nature 
exert  a  great  influence  over  disease.  Faith,  indeed, 
in  medicine, "  will  remove  mountains  "  of  disease !  And 
confidence,  when  assisted  by  exercise,  diet,  fresh  air, 
cleanliness,  and  proper  regimen,  has  enabled  all  sys- 
tems of  medicine  to  perform  marvelous  cures !  The 
use  of  medicine  also  renders  the  patient  more  careful 
to  follow  the  proper  regimen  or  course  of  diet  and  ex- 
ercise essential  to  effect  a  cure  of  his  disease,  and  it 
also  satisfies  the  mind.  Whenever  I  have  occasion  to 
prescribe  a  rigid  system  of  diet  and  abstinence  on  the 
part  of  the  patient,  to  cure  any  disease,  and  I  think 
there  is  any  danger  of  the  patient's  failing  to  follow 
the  directions,  I  usually  prepare  a  little  burnt  flour 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  109 

or  sugar,  and  tell  them  to  be  sure  and  take  it  just  three 
times  a  day,  half  an  hour  before  eating,  and  to  be  care- 
ful and  not  eat  any  buckwheat  cakes  and  sausages 
afterwards ;  as  this  powerful  medicine  is  incompatible 
with  grease,  and  I  do  n't  know  what  it  might  do  to 
them.  (Great  applause.)  In  this  way  1  have  often 
succeeded  in  performing  most  wonderful  cures,  when 
all  other  systems  of  medicine  had  failed  in  the  hands 
of  others  !  Nature  cured  my  patient,  and  I  got  all  the 
credit. 

Again :  there  is  another  very  prevalent  idea  in  almost 
every  community.  And  that  is,  that  Indian  Doctors 
know  a  great  deal  about  medicines,  and  consequently 
are  enabled  to  perform  some  most  wonderful  cures; 
and  hence  the  public  have  arranged,  to  attract  their 
notice  and  gain  their  confidence,  numerous  advertise- 
ments of  quack  nostrums,  representing  some  poor  un- 
fortunate invalid,  with  at  least  one  foot  in  the  grave, 
and  an  Indian  medicine  man,  holding  an  herb  in  one 
hand,  and  extending  to  him  a  bottle  in  the  other ;  con- 
veying the  idea  that  this  wonderful  medicine  was  orig- 
inally prepared  by  the  Indians,  who  first  discovered 
its  great  virtues,  &c.  Now  Washington  Irving,  Hum- 
bolt,  Catlin,  and  other  Indian  travelers,  tell  us  that 
the  Indians  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  virtues  of 
vegetable  remedies.  They  have  no  "  Indian  Doctors," 
but  prophets^  who  do  not  cure  disease  with  "  Indian 
vegetables,"  as  they  are  called,  but  by  the  magician's 
spells,  charms,  incantations,  amulets,  &c.,  which  they 
wear  next  their  persons,  or  suspend  around  their  necks ! 

But  so  extensively  prevalent  is  the  opposite  idea,  that 
we  have  even  now,  in  many  of  our  chief  cities  and 


110  LECTURES   ON   THE 

towns,  numerous  spurious  Indian  doctors,  who  profess 
to  have  studied  among  the  Indians,  and  to  have  learned 
from  them  the  art  of  curing  disease.  If  you  observe 
these  gentry  carefully,  you  will  discover  that  they  dis- 
play much  more  brass  than  copper  in  their  composition. 
They  generally  understand  very  well  the  weak  points  of 
the  community,  and  deliberately  plan  and  study  how 
to  impose  most  successfully  upon  their  blindness,  credu- 
lity and  superstition.  By  preserving  the  most  profound 
secrecy  and  mystery  in  all  of  their  movements,  they 
soon  acquire,  among  a  certain  class,  a  reputation  for 
knowledge  and  wisdom.  Now,  let  me  observe  to  you, 
that  wherever  you  discover  much  secrecy  and  mystery, 
there  you  will  be  sure  to  discover  some  fraud  and 
humbug.  Truth  dreads  not,  but  rather  seeks  the  light, 
in  order  that  it  may  display  its  beauty  and  perfection  ; 
while,  on  the  contrary,  error,  deception  and  fraud  sur- 
vive and  flourish  only  in  secrecy  and  darkness ! 

These  Indian  doctors  gather  their  medicines  only 
when  the  sign  is  right,  because  they  know,  from  the 
unprecedented  success  of  Dr.  Roback,  Madame  Adol- 
phe,  and  others  of  fortune-telling  notoriety,  that  many 
people  still  believe  in  that  barbarous  relic  of  old  astrol- 
ogy. Indeed,  in  some  parts  of  the  State  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, so  extensively  prevalent  is  this  vulgar  idea,  that 
many  of  the  inhabitants,  only  a  few  years  ago,  before 
"  the  common  school  master  came  abroad,"  would  not 
put  a  roof  on  their  houses  when  the  sign  was  up,  for 
fear  that  the  moon  would  draw  all  the  nails  out  of  the 
shingles  (applause) ;  nor  would  they  plant  their  corn 
when  the  sign  was  down,  for  fear  the  moon  would  draw 
the  young  sprouts  down  through,  and  they  might  come 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  Ill 

out  on  some  other  person's  farm  on  the  other  side. 
(Great  applause.) 

When  these  wonderful  doctors  gather  the  bark  from 
the  forest  trees,  to  prepare  their  emetics,  they  are  care- 
ful to  strip  the  bark  upwards  towards  the  limbs,  or 
"  agin  natur,"  as  they  call  it ;  and  when  they  wish  to 
prepare  their  cathartic  remedies,  they  strip  the  bark 
downwards,  or  "  with  natur,"  so  that  it  may  operate  as 
physic !  (Applause.)  I  don't  know  what  it  would  do 
if  they  should  strip  the  bark  around  the  tree,  but  judg- 
ing from  experience,  I  should  think  it  would  be  highly 
dangerous.  (Great  laughter.) 

Is  not  the  boasted  success  of  such  quackery,  decep- 
tion and  nonsense  a  humiliating  commentary  upon  the 
intelligence  of  the  age  in  which  we  live  ? 

"  The  world  is  generally  averse 
To  all  the  truth  it  sees  and  hears ; 
But  swallows  nonsense  and  a  lie 
With  greediness  and  gluttony. 
Surely  the  pleasure  is  as  great 
Of  being  cheated  as  to  cheat." 

Is  it  not  humiliating  that  we,  who  boast  of  the  progress 
of  ideas,  and  of  the  improvement  of  the  age,  must, 
to-day,  in  the  noon  of  the  nineteenth  century,  forget  the 
teachings  of  our  Baldwins,  our  Bartons,  our  Marshals, 
and  our  Darlingtons,  and  other  distinguished  botanists, 
and  go  back  to  the  North  American  savages  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  virtues  of  the  vegetable  kingdom? 
But  some  will  say,  Doctor,  I  know  that  these  remedies 
are  useful,  and  that  they  cured  my  complaint.  Now, 
all  that  such  a  person  knows  is,  that  he  has  taken  the 
remedy  and  is  well.  Perhaps  his  disease  was  cured 


112  LECTUEES   ON  THE 

by  the  recuperative  action  of  the  vital  powers,  in  spite 
of  the  remedy  and  in  spite  of  the  disease.  Experience 
is  often  false  and  credulity  blind.  Says  Prof.  Jackson : 
"  Fifty  medical  facts  are  often  forty-nine  medical  lies." 
Experience  alone  can  never  be  trusted,  when  unaided 
by  extensive  observation  and  correct  physiological  infor- 
mation. A  large  proportion  of  every  community  must 
have  seen  the  danger  of  entrusting  their  lives  to  the 
care  of  an  unskillful,  experimenting  physician;  and  yet, 
without  the  least  physiological  information,  they  will 
not  hesitate  a  moment  to  experiment  upon  themselves, 
by  trying  every  medicine  which  they  can  hear  of,  or 
find  advertised  in  any  of  the  public  journals. 

"  Man  first  creates,  and  then  he  fears  the  elf — 
Thus  others  cheat  him  not,  but  he  himself : 
He  hates  realities,  and  hugs  the  cheat, 
And  still  the  only  pleasure  is  —  in  the  deceit." 

The  pernicious  habit  of  taking  medicines  in  this  way, 
for  every  imaginary  ache  and  complaint,  without  any 
knowledge  as  to  the  nature  of  the  difficulty,  or  the 
proper  mode  of  relief,  often  reminds  me  very  forcibly 
of  the  anecdote,  related  by  the  Chevalier  d'Alembert, 
of  a  man  who  had  accidentally  fallen  into  a  deep  well, 
and  whose  friends  thought  of  getting  him  out  by  filling 
the  well  up.  Some  ran  and  brought  huge  stones,  and 
others  blocks  of  wood,  which  they  cast  down  into  the 
well,  greatly  endangering  the  life  of  their  friend.  And 
so  it  is  in  this  indiscriminate  use  of  medicine.  If  any 
of  you  feel  a  little  unwell,  your  friends  tumble  down 
into  you,  first  a  box  of  pills,  then  a  bottle  of  sarsapa- 
rilla,  then  cod-liver  oil  —  enough  to  kill  a  well  man. 
If,  under  this  very  philosophical  treatment,  you  happen 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  113 

to  get  well,  they  say — what  a  marvelous  cure!  what  a 
wonderful  remedy !  But  if  one  of  these  remedies  hap- 
pens to  kill  you,  they  fold  their  hands  and  draw  on  a 
long  face,  and  declare  that  it  is  a  visitation  of  Divine 
Providence.  (Great  applause.) 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  what  shall  be  the  great 
remedy  for  the  dispersion  of  this  blind  credulity  and 
superstition,  but  the  diffusion  of  correct  scientific 
knowledge  ?  It  is  the  study  of  science  which  unfolds 
the  reasoning  faculties  of  the  human  mind;  and  an 
improved  knowledge  of  the  operations  of  nature  around 
us,  will  banish  fairies,  and  ghosts,  and  witches,  and 
a  belief  in  dreams  and  signs  from  all  respectable  society. 
If  we  would  not  have  the  ivy  creep  upon  the  ground, 
we  must  erect  a  trellis  for  it  to  embrace,  and  by  embra- 
cing, ascend  :  and  if  we  would  detach  the  human  mind 
and  heart  of  man  from  the  superstition  and  folly  of  the 
age,  we  must  unfold  to  them  higher  and  nobler  objects, 
and  by  the  diffusion  of  universal  knowledge,  show 

them  that 

"  The  only  amaranthine  flower  on  earth 
Is  virtue :  the  only  lasting  treasure,  truth." 


LECTURE    IY 


RESPIRATION. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  — 

LAST  evening  I  had  the  pleasure  of  calling  your 
attention  to  the  nature  and  functions  of  the  appara- 
tus concerned  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood;  and 
this  evening  I  propose  to  examine  the  Eespiratory  Or- 
gans, their  structure,  nature  and  uses,  as  well  as  their 
diseases — causes,  means  of  prevention,  and  cure. 

If  we  examine  many  of  the  lower  series  of  animals, 
we  shall  observe  that  they  do  not  appear  to  possess  any 
special  organs  which  are  subservient  to  the  purposes 
of  respiration,  but  their  skins  are  so  soft  and  porous 
that  they  do  not  appear  to  afford  any  impediment  to 
the  free  absorption  of  air,  and  the  exhalation  of  the 
impurities  of  the  blood. 

In  the  lizard,  we  observe  the  simplest  form  of  respi- 
ratory organs,  consisting  of  simple  membranous  sacs 
or  air  bags,  which  open  and  shut  during  respira- 
tion, introducing  and  expelling  the  atmospheric  air. 
In  the  turtle,  we  find  that  these  membranous  sacs  are 
divided  by  means  of  numerous  thin  and  delicate  parti- 
tions, into  many  distinct  chambers  or  cells,  each  cell 


116  LECTURES    ON   THE 

having  its  distinct  air-tube  communicating  with  the 
windpipe. 

In  man  and  all  of  the  higher  animals,  you  will  ob- 
serve that  these  air-cells  are  increased  in  number  and 
are  smaller  than  a  millet  seed,  each  one  of  which  is 
attached  to  its  air-tube,  enabling  it  to  receive  its  por- 
tion of  air  during  respiration. 

The  lungs  of  the  lower  animals,  which  are  so  ex- 
ceedingly simple,  are  caused  to  move  by  the  stimulus 
which  is  communicated  to  them  by  the  atmospheric 
air ;  but  as  they  become  larger  and  more  complicated 
in  their  structure,  they  are  moved  by  the  agency  of  the 
diaphragm  and  the  bones  and  muscles  of  the  chest 
which  are  thrown  around  them. 

In  order  that  you  may  fully  understand  the  nature 
and  the  importance  of  the  functions  of  respiration  as 
well  as  the  laws  or  conditions  which  regulate  their 
healthy  action,  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  explain  to 
you  the  anatomy  of  the  chest,  in  whose  cavity  the 
lungs  are  placed. 

The  chest  is  composed  of  the  breast  bone  or  sternum 
which  is  situated  in  front,  and  the  ribs  upon  each 
side,  with  twelve  curiously  shaped  bones,  called  the 
dorsal  vertebra,  situated  behind  the  chest  and  forming 
a  portion  of  the  spinal  column.  The  breast-bone,  as 
you  will  observe  by  examining  this  skeleton  of  the  hu- 
man being,  at  birth  is  composed  of  several  pieces  of 
bone  united  together  by  means  of  cartilaginous  or 
gristly  matter,  which  is  very  transparent  and  elastic. 
As  the  young  child  advances  in  life,  these  several  pieces 
of  bone  unite,  forming  the  sternum,  which  is  united 
with  the  ribs  on  either  side  by  the  intervention  of  sev- 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  117 

eral  pieces  of  cartilage,  rendering  their  anterior  ex- 
tremities exceedingly  elastic  and  movable  during  life, 
and  capable  of  yielding  upon  application  of  the  slight- 
est pressure. 

The  ribs,  as  you  will  observe,  do  not  appear  to  pass 
directly  around  the  chest  like  the  hoops  of  a  barrel, 
but  they  descend  downwards  and  forwards,  at  an  angle 
of  sixty  or  seventy  degrees.  So  that  a  little  pressure 
upon  their  anterior  extremities  will  arrest  their  mo- 
tions, and  greatly  interfere  with  the  functions  of  respi- 
ration. 

As  this  skeleton  is  that  of  a  male,  you  will  not  fail  to 
observe  that  there  are  twelve  ribs  on  each  side,  and  if 
one  was  taken  out  of  the  left  side  of  old  Father  Adam 
to  make  Mother  Eve,  it  has  been  restored  again  in  all 
of  his  dear  children.  (Applause.) 

The  cavity  of  the  chest,  in  which  the  vital  organs 
are  placed,  is  separated  from  the  cavity  of  the  abdo- 
men by  means  of  the  midriif  or  diaphragm,  which  is  a 
kind  of  movable  partition.  The  diaphragm  contracts 
and  descends  downwards  against  the  stomach  and  liver, 
to  the  extent  of  about  three  inches,  during  each  full 
inspiration,  thereby  increasing  the  size  of  the  cavity  of 
the  chest  to  a  corresponding  degree,  and  causing  the 
air  to  rush  in  through  the  nostrils,  distending  the  lungs, 
which  move  in  the  vacuum  which  is  thus  created. 

The  air-tube,  which  transmits  the  air  into  the  air- 
cells  of  the  lungs,  is  composed  of  a  large  number  of 
cartilaginous  rings,  connected  together  by  means  of 
fibrous  matter,  and  lined  with  a  soft  and  delicate  mucus 
membrane,  which  secretes  a  considerable  quantity  of 
mucus,  lubricating  its  lining  surface,  and  preventing 


118  LECTURES   ON  THE 

\ 

the  inhalation  and  exhalation  of  the  air  from  producing 
friction  and  irritation.  The  commencement  of  the  air- 
tube  in  the  throat,  which  is  larger  in  the  male  than  in 
the  female,  is  called  the  larynx  or  Adam's  apple,  from 
the  general  prevalence  of  the  vulgar  idea  that  Adam 
swallowed  the  apple  whole,  which  Eve  gave  him,  down 
as  far  as  this  point,  where,  in  consequence  of  his  wick- 
edness, it  stuck  fast  in  his  throat,  and  in  the  throats 
of  all  of  his  sons,  down  even  to  the  present  day !  (Great 
applause.) 

The  windpipe  terminates,  as  you  will  observe,  behind 
the  breast-bone,  in  two  principal  branches,  which  soon 
divide  and  subdivide  into  a  great  number  of  bronchial 
tubes,  which  traverse  all  parts  of  the  lungs,  and  finally 
terminate  in  the  air-cells ! 

You  will  observe  that  the  bronchial  tubes  are  not 
situated,  as  many  persons  suppose,  in  the  throat,  but 
in  the  lungs !  They  are  the  seat  of  that  disease  known 
as  bronchitis,  which  depends  upon  irritation  and  in- 
flammation of  its  lining  surface,  produced  by  checked 
perspiration,  reacting  upon  the  bronchial  mucus  mem- 
brane, predisposed  to  disease  from  its  peculiar  morbid 
irritability,  and  by  all  of  the  causes  in  general,  which 
tend  to  produce  irritation  and  inflammation. 

These  small  bronchial  tubes  and  air-cells,  are  also 
the  seat  of  that  disease  which  is  known  as  asthma, 
depending  upon  the  spasmodic  closing  of  the  air-cells 
and  tubes,  so  as  to  exclude  for  a  time  the  atmospheric 
air,  and  causing  laborious  and  difficult  respiration. 
Many  persons  are  predisposed  to  frequent  attacks  of 
this  distressing  disease ;  and  this  predisposition  depends 
upon  general  debility  of  the  nervous  system,  accom- 


PHILOSOPHY    OF   LIFE.  119 

panied  with  peculiar  irritability  of  the  pulmonary  sys- 
tem. In  many  instances  the  peculiar  predisposition 
to  this  affection  is  hereditary,  and  in  other  instances  it 
is  engendered  by  a  false  or  neglected  system  of  physi- 
ical  education  in  infancy ! 

Tubercular  or  pulmonary  consumption,  that  pale 
and  withering  pestilence,  which  is  estimated  to  destroy 
at  least  seventy  thousand  victims  in  this  country  every 
year,  is  located  in  these  delicate  pulmonary  air-cells. 
It  depends  upon  the  deposit  of  large  quantities  of  gray- 
ish material  in  the  air  cells,  called  tubercular  matter, 
which  is  quite  firm  and  consistent  at  first,  and  in  the 
course  of  time  it  is  softened  by  the  process  of  inflam- 
mation, and  coughed  up  and  expectorated,  leaving  a 
cavity  which  heals,  or  ulcerates,  and  causes  the  death 
of  the  person  so  affected.  This  tubercular  matter  is 
also  found  deposited  in  the  necks,  and  other  parts  of 
the  bodies  of  scrofulous  children,  and  these  lumps  are 
known  as  kernels  in  the  neck,  and  by  others  as  scrofula, 
or  king's  evil.  Indeed  tuberculosis,  or  consumption, 
and  scrofulosis  or  scrofula,  are  regarded  by  the  best 
modern  authors,  as  identical.  And  it  is  generally 
believed  that  true  pulmonary  consumption  can  only 
exist  in  a  peculiar  strumous  or  scrofulous  habit.  Such 
persons  are  always  strongly  predisposed  to  this  fatal 
disease ! 

Consumption  is  not  produced,  then,  as  many  suppose, 
by  taking  cold,  but  by  all  of  those  causes  which  pro- 
duce humeral  affections  and  impurities  of  the  blood. 
You  have  often  observed  that  during  a  single  inclem- 
ent season,  several  persons  will  contract  severe  colds 
and  some  of  those  affected  will  soon  recover,  while  the 


120  LECTURES   ON   THE 

others  sink  into  a  gradual  decline  and  finally  die  of 
extreme  exhaustion.  The  lungs  of  those  who  recover 
are  free  from  all  tubercular  matter,  and  those  who 
decline  and  die  of  pulmonary  consumption  had  tuber- 
cular matter  in  their  lungs,  predisposing  them  to  the 
active  or  acute  form  of  the  disease  whose  rapid  pro- 
gress was  hastened  by  the  cough  and  inflammation. 

Now,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  the 
second  and  third  stages  of  pulmonary  consumption  are 
beyond  the  reach  of  remedies,  it  becomes  important  for 
us  to  detect  this  disease  long  before  the  cough  and 
hectic  flush  and  night  sweats  manifest  themselves,  so 
that  the  appropriate  hygienic  remedies  may  be  applied 
before  it  is  too  late.  This  may  be  easily  done  by  a 
thorough  physical  examination  of  the  chest. 

Healthy  lungs  are  empty,  or  like  a  barrel  that  con- 
tains nothing  but  air.  Now  any  good  mechanic  can 
tell  whether  a  barrel  is  full  or  empty,  by  gently  strik- 
ing the  end  of  it  with  his  fingers,  and  so  also,  upon  the 
same  principle  and  by  similar  means,  can  a  good  physi- 
cian tell  whether  the  lungs  are  empty  or  not.  If  they 
are  empty  and  contain  nothing  but  air,  there  is  produ- 
ced the  hollow  sound  by  gently  striking  with  the  ends 
of  the  fingers  the  exterior  of  the  chest !  Again,  these 
physical  explorations  of  the  chest  may  be  rendered 
still  more  certain  by  listening  to  the  respiratory  mur- 
mur produced  by  the  passage  of  the  air  along  the  air- 
tubes.  If  these  tubes  are  closed  or  filled  by  the  de- 
posit of  tuberculous  matter,  of  course  there  will  not 
be  any  sound  produced.  If  the  natural  sounds  can  be 
distinguished,  it  is  an  evidence  that  the  lungs  are  in  a 
sound  and  healthy  condition. 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  121 

If  you  examine  these  healthy,  natural  lungs,  you 
will  find  that  they  are  as  soft  as  velvet  and  exceeding- 
ly elastic,  (here  the  Doctor  exhibited  the  lungs.)  They 
appear  very  small,  because  they  contain  no  air ;  but  if 
I  apply  this  brass  tube  to  my  mouth  and  blow  them 
up,  you  will  observe  the  immense  amount  of  air  which 
they  are  capable  of  containing.  Now  when  the  air- 
tubes  and  minute  cells  are  filled  with  tubercular  mat- 
ter, the  lungs  become  solid  and  heavy,  and  are  ren- 
dered incapable  of  containing  air,  as  you  will  observe 
in  this  natural  preparation  of  diseased  lungs,  which  I 
removed  from  a  person  who  died  of  pulmonary  con- 
sumption. In  some  parts  of  these  lungs  you  will  find 
this  tubercular  matter  almost  as  hard  as  burnt  lime- 
stone, and  in  other  parts,  of  a  cheesey  consistence ;  in 
other  parts  you  will  find  large  cavities  produced  by  the 
softening  and  expectoration  of  the  tubercular  matter. 
When  the  disease  has  extended  even  thus  far,  if  the 
constitution  is  strong,  the  vital  powers  may  cause  ad- 
hesions to  take  place,  and  the  patient  may  recover,  but 
these  instances  are  extremely  rare. 

The  great  objects  of  respiration  are  to  stimulate, 
cleanse  and  purify  the  blood.  The  atmospheric  ,air 
which  we  breathe,  is  composed  of  oxygen  or  vital  air, 
united  with  nitrogen  and  carbonic  acid  gases.  The 
oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  is  exhaled  by  the  leaves  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  while  the  carbonic  acid  gas  is 
exhaled  by  the  lungs  of  animals.  The  lungs  of  the 
animal  kingdom  are  continually  absorbing  oxygen, 
which  changes  the  dark,  venous  blood  to  a  bright  scar- 
let red,  while  the  leaves  of  plants  are  continually 
inhaling  carbonic  acid  gas !  Thus  these  two  kingdoms 


122  LECTURES    ON    THE 

seem  wisely  to  have  been  constituted  by  the  Creator  to 
balance  and  sustain  each  other,  not  only  supplying 
food,  but  also  air  for  each  other  to  breathe  ! 

If  we  exhale  pure  oxygen  gas  it  produces  a  degree 
of  stimulation  amounting  almost  to  intoxication,  and 
hence  it  is  diluted  with  nitrogen  in  the  atmospheric 
air,  adapting  it  to  all  the  purposes  of  respiration. 

During  respiration,  the  anterior  ends  of  the  ribs  are 
raised  up  by  the  action  of  the  intercostal  muscles,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  central  portion  of  the  diaphragm 
drops  down  to  the  extent  of  about  three  inches,  caus- 
ing the  air  to  rush  in  through  the  air-tube,  distending 
all  of  the  little  air-cells  in  the  lungs  to  their  utmost 
capacity.  The  right  lower  chamber  of  the  heart  then 
contracts,  and  forces  the  black,  impure  and  venous 
blood  out  into  the  small  net-work  of  blood  vessels  on 
the  outside  surface  of  the  air-cells,  when  it  throws  off 
its  black  material  or  carbonic  acid  gas  into  the  air-cells, 
and  at  the  same  time  absorbs  the  oxygen  of  the  atmos- 
pheric air,  instantaneously  changing  its  color  from  the 
darkest  venous  hue  to  the  brightest  scarlet  red.  The 
aggregate  extent  of  surface  afforded  by  these  numer- 
ous, air-cells  for  the  purification  of  the  blood,  is  said  to 
exceed  twenty  thousand  square  inches !  Over  this 
vast  surface,  all  of  the  blood  which  is  contained  in  the 
human  body  passes  every  two  minutes  and  twenty-eight 
seconds,  and  is  completely  cleansed  and  purified,  and 
has  "  breathed  into  it  the  breath  of  life,"  which  renders 
it  warm  and  stimulating  to  all  of  the  different  organs 
of  the  human  body  ! 

In  all  of  the  inferior  animals,  where  little  or  no  pro- 
vision is  made  for  respiration,  the  blood  is  cold,  and 


PHILOSOPHY   OP    LIFE.  123 

their  motions  are  torpid  and  inactive ;  as  in  the  earth- 
worm, snail,  and  many  of  the  reptile  series.  Many  of 
the  superior  animals  also  hibernate  or  secrete  themselves 
in  dens,  during  the  winter  season,  and  become  torpid 
and  inactive,  for  want  of  fresh  air  and  active  respiration. 
Indeed,  there  is  the  most  intimate  relation  between  the 
capacity  for  respiration  and  the  activity  of  all  the  infe- 
rior as  well  as  the  superior  animals.  If  we  examine 
the  little  humming-bird  —  whose  delicate,  gossamer 
wings  move  with  a  velocity  scarcely  distinguishable,  as 
it  sips  the  nectar  from  flower  to  flower  —  we  shall  find 
that  it  possesses  immense  lungs,  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  its  body.  These  lungs,  which  move  with  the 
most  extraordinary  activity,  enable  it  to  inhale  large 
quantities  of  air,  which  warms  and  stimulates  its  blood, 
and  infuses  the  most  astonishing  energy  and  power  into 
its  delicate  system. 

Again:  look  at  the  noblest  bird  of  Columbia,  the 
grey  forest  eagle,  who  laughs  with  scorn  at  the  power 
that  is  displayed  by  the  steam  engine,  as  he  mounts  to 
the  clouds,  amidst  the  lightning  and  whirlwind ! 

The  grey  forest  eagle  —  oh  !  where  has  he  fled  ? 

Does  he  shrink  to  his  eyrie,  shivering  with  dread  ? 

Does  the  lightning  blind  his  eye  ?  has  the  terrible  blast 

O'er  the  wing  of  the  sky-king  a  fear-fetter  cast? 

Ah !  no ;  no ;  the  brave  eagle  thinks  not  of  fright : 

The  wrath  of  the  tempest  but  rouses  delight. 

To  the  flash  of  the  lightning  his  eye  casts  a  gleam ; 

To  the  shriek  of  the  wild  blast  he  echoes  his  scream  — 

With  front  like  a  warrior  spread  to  the  fray, 

With  clapping  of  pinions,  is  up  and  away. 

Aye,  away  !  away  soars  the  fearless  and  free ; 

Reckless  of  the  sky-strife,  its  monarch  is  he. 

The  lightning  darts  round  him  —  undaunted  his  flight : 


124  LE'CTURES    ON   THE 

Still  upward,  high  upward  he  wheels,  till  his  form 
Is  lost  in  the  black,  scowling  gloom  of  the  storm  ! 

If  we  examine  the  anatomy  of  the  eagle,  we  shall 
observe  that  its  lungs  are  enormous,  in  proportion  to 
the  size  of  its  body.  They  not  only  are  adapted  to 
receive  vast  quantities  of  air,  but  their  larger  extrem- 
ities are  pervious ;  so  that  the  air  not  only  passes  into, 
but  through  them,  into  all  of  the  tissues,  and  even  into 
tlie  bones  and  ends  of  the  quills  of  the  animal ;  so  that 
its  whole  system  may  be  said  to  be  subservient  to  the 
purposes  of  respiration. 

The  same  law  also  prevails  in  reference  to  man,  as 
well  as  all  of  the  inferior  animals.  Those  that  have 
the  largest  capacities  for  respiration,  are  always  the 
strongest  and  the  most  active.  Among  the  domestic 
animals,  the  horse  affords  a  remarkable  example  to 
illustrate  the  truth  of  this  observation.  Observation 
and  experience  have  taught  the  farmer,  that  the  one 
who  possesses  a  deep  and  broad  chest  is  always  the 
strongest,  and  the  most  capable  of  performing  great 
feats  of  physical  strength.  If  he  is  asked  to  purchase 
one  of  these  animals  with  a  narrow,  wedge-shaped 
chest,  he  says,  at  once,  "  Sir,  your  horse  is  foundered, 
and  he  is  good  for  nothing ! "  Well,  now,  there  are 
thousands  of  our  fashionable  young  ladies  and  gentle- 
men who  are  also  foundered,  and,  according  to  the  same 
rule,  you  can  easily  estimate  their  value  for  any  useful 
purpose.  (Applause.) 

Experience  has  taught  man  to  look  with  respect  upon 
the  broad  chest  and  manly  proportions  of  his  fellow- 
man,  while,  on  the  contrary,  the  narrow  chest  and 
stooping  figure  are  associated  with  weakness  and  effem- 
inacy. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF   LIFE.  125 

Again :  longevity,  or  the  length  of  life,  also  depends 
upon  the  size  and  capacity  of  the  lungs,  both  in  man 
and  the  inferior  animals.  Thousands  of  insects  live  but 
to  attain  an  ephemeral  existence  of  a  few  moments ; 
others  live  only  for  a  few  short  months,  while  the  eagle 
almost  bids  defiance  to  the  influence  of  time  and  its 
changes ! 

Ah  !  that  eagle  of  freedom  !  age  dims  not  his  eye  : 
He  has  seen  earth's  mortality  spring,  bloom  and  die ; 
He  has  seen  proud  nations  rise,  flourish  and  fall, 
But  mocks  at  time's  changes,  and  triumphs  o'er  all. 
His  presence  ever  shall  bless  his  own  native  clime, 
Till  the  foot  of  the  archangel  is  placed  on  time  ! 

Nor  is  man,  indeed,  any  exception  to  this  general 
law  of  nature ;  and  although  few  live  to  attain  the  age 
of  the  patriarchs  of  old,  it  is  not  because  nature  is  less 
kind,  or  because  nature's  God  has  changed,  but  rather 
because  our  present  highly  artificial  and  fashionable 
mode  of  living  is  at  war  with  principles  of  longevity. 

Now  then,  inasmuch  as  it  is  clearly  demonstrated, 
that  whatever  injures  and  weakens  the  lungs,  also 
weakens  and  destroys  the  body,  and  prostrates  the 
mental  and  moral  powers,  which  depend  upon  it  for 
their  healthy  manifestations,  it  becomes  a  subject  of 
the  greatest  interest  and  importance  for  us  to  under- 
stand the  laws  which  govern  the  development  of  these 
organs  —  laws  which  are  generally  disobeyed,  because 
imperfectly  understood. 

1st.  The  stooping  or  bent  position  in  sitting  and 
standing,  diminishes  the  size  of  the  chest,  and  impedes 
the  movements  of  the  respiratory  organs  ! 

If  you  examine  the  trunk  of  the  human  body,  (fig. 
1,)  you  will  observe  that  its  two  great  cavities  are  filled 


126  LECTURES   ON  THE 

to  repletion  with  the  vital  and  nutritive  organs.  Now 
if  we  bend  forward,  the  effect  is  to  diminish  the  size 
of  these  cavities,  and  of  course  to  compress  the  pulmo- 
nary organs,  and  impede  the  freedom  of  their  motions. 
The  truth  and  importance  of  this  proposition  may  be 
seen  from  a  simple  experiment  which  you  may  at  any 
time  try  upon  yourselves.  If  you  wish  to  inhale  a 
deep  and  full  inspiration,  you  involuntarily  place  your 
body  in  the  erect  position,  throwing  the  anterior  walls 
of  the  chest  outwards  and  upwards,  so  that  you  may 
distend  the  lungs  to  their  utmost  capacity. 

Again :  the  shoulder  blades  are  imbedded  in  the  mus- 
cles upon  the  posterior  walls  of  the  chest,  and  move 
freely  backwards  and  forwards,  as  we  change  the  posi- 
tion of  our  bodies  in  sitting  and  standing.  When  we 
bend  forward,  the  shoulder  blades  and  shoulder  joints 
slide  forward  upon  the  upper  portions  of  the  sides  of 
the  chest,  throwing  their  whole  weight  upon  the  ribs, 
and  diminishing  the  freedom  of  their  movements. 
The  attention  of  females,  and  others  engaged  in  seden- 
tary and  inactive  employments,  is  particularly  directed 
to  the  nature  and  importance  of  this  law.  From  much 
observation  upon  this  subject,  both  in  this  country  and 
in  Europe,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  much  nervous  de- 
bility, and*  many  cases  of  indigestion  and  pulmonary 
consumption,  are  produced  by  this  pernicious  and  vul- 
gar habit  of  stooping  or  bending  forward,  while  follow- 
ing various  mechanical  employments,  as  in  writing, 
sewing,  &c.  Parents  who  value  the  health  and  wel- 
fare of  their  children  in  after  life,  cannot  be  too  par- 
ticular in  correcting  this  pernicious  habit  in  infancy. 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  127 

2d.  It  is  a  natural  law,  that  the  dress  worn  by  the 
human  being  should  not  be  so  tight  as  to  diminish  the 
size  of  the  chest ! 

If  you  examine  this  natural  chest,  in  which  the 
lungs  are  located,  you  will  observe  that  it  is  as  elastic 
and  compressible  as  a  willow  basket.  Now,  if  a  small 
or  tight  dress  is  applied  to  this  chest,  it  will  force  the 
ribs  inwards,  decreasing  the  size  of  the  cavity,  and 
producing  corresponding  weakness  of  body,  and  decay 
of  mind !  If  you  would  witness  the  truth  of  this  ob- 
servation for  yourselves,  ask  the  young  lady  who  is  dressed 
in  the  most  approved  fashion,  to  attend  an  evening 
party,  ball,  or  levee,  if  she  will  romp  and  play  with 
you,  or  engage  in  any  innocent  amusement  requiring 
active  exercise.  How  soon  she  is  out  of  breath,  fa- 
tigued, and  exhausted.  Indeed  all  active  exercise  at 
such  parties  is  considered  vulgar  and  coarse.  And 
why]  Simply  because  fashionable  young  ladies'  waists, 
compressed  in  bones  and  buckram,  are  not  capable  of 
enduring  the  fatigue  and  exertion !  The  chests  of 
many  of  them  are  compressed  into  so  small  a  space, 
that  they  gasp  for  breath,  and  their  eyes  stick  out  like 
cups  and  saucers,  even  while  they  sit  still !  (Applause 
and  sensation.)  It  is  hard  work  for  them  to  live 
and  do  anything  more  than  fan  themselves,  and  con- 
verse about  the  last  sickly  novel  that  has  emanated 
from  the  press ! 

And  why  is  it,  young  gentlemen,  that  the  fairest, 
and  in  many  respects  the  most  interesting  portion  of 
humanity,  are  so  ready  to  sacrifice  their  strength  and 
happiness  to  the  dictates  of  this  custom  and  fashion? 
Some  cruel  young  knight  of  the  mustache  has  de- 


128  LECTURES   ON   THE 

clared,  it  is  because  they  love  to  be  squeezed !  (Laugh- 
ter and  applause.) 

But  no,  gentlemen !  it  is  because  the  Creator  has 
strongly  implanted  in  their  hearts  the  desire  to  please 
those  gentlemen  of  the  opposite  sex,  whose  most  mo- 
mentous thought  is  to  determine  in  their  minds  wheth- 
er the  locks  of  their  hair  shall  hang  lower  before  or 
behind — whether  they  shall  curl  or  hang  straight 
— whether  the  whiskers  shall  come  down  under  the 
chin  or  stop  half-way.  The  most  perfect  character  for 
a  woman,  in  the  estimation  of  these  "  nice  young  men," 
is  to  be  characterless  —  fine  by  defect,  beautifully 
weak,  so  that  they  shall  be  compelled  to  lean  upon 
them  for  support.  (Applause.)  Very  few  young  gen- 
tlemen would  dare  to  outrage  and  insult  the  feelings  of 
fashionable  young  ladies,  by  telling  them  they  were  the 
very  pictures  of  health !  It  is  so  coarse  and  vulgar 
for  a  woman  to  be  healthy,  in  the  estimation  of  these 
would-be  "  lords  of  creation  " ! 

Fashion  is  determined  by  a  foolish  and  idiotic  pub- 
lic opinion,  and  not  upon  principles  of  morality,  health 
and  beauty.  The  Chinese  mother  causes  her  infant  to 
endure  all  of  the  pain  and  agony  produced  by  a  tight 
fitting  shoe,  in  order  that  the  feet  of  her  offspring  may 
be  small  and  beautiful  as  they  advance  in  life !  When 
a  Christian  or  civilized  people  contemplate  the  Chinese 
women's  small,  deformed,  and  decrepid  feet,  which  are 
so  destructive  of  all  freedom,  grace  and  beauty  of 
movement,  they  are  astonished  and  disgusted ! 

Among  certain  tribes  of  North  American  Indians,  it 
is  fashionable  to  have  flat  heads ;  and  the  cruel  Indian 
mother,  in  order  to  secure  so  desirable,  because  fash- 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  129 

ionable  an  end,  binds  up  the  head  of  her  infant,  while 
the  bones  are  yet  soft  and  elastic,  between  splints  of 
wood,  until  she  produces,  in  our  estimation,  the  most 
hideous  deformity  ! 

In  Algeria,  among  some  of  the  barbarous  tribes,  it 
is  fashionable  to  be  fat  and  fleshy,  and  the  mother  feeds 
her  daughter  upon  a  certain  fattening  diet,  and  if,  at 
the  age  of  eight  or  nine,  she  weighs  three  hundred 
pounds — a  whole  camel  load — she  is  considered  the 
very  climax  of  beauty,  fashion,  and  perfection,  and 
brings  the  highest  price  in  the  market,  as  a  wife  for 
some  "love-sick  young  swain!"  (Applause  and  laugh- 
ter.) 

Among  certain  Asiatic  tribes,  it  is  considered  a  great 
mark  of  beauty  to  have  a  very  long  nose ;  and  in  early 
life,  while  this  organ  is  yet  soft  and  gristly,  the  anxious 
mother  pulls  it  several  times  a  day,  until  it  is  half  a 
foot  long !  Again,  among  other  tribes  it  is  considered 
fashionable,  and  beautiful,  to  have  very  long  chins. 
And  the  mother,  by  dint  of  daily  manipulations,  like 
those  of  our  fashionable  young  exquisites  with  their 
whiskers,  succeeds  in  stretching  them  out  until  they 
might  possibly  hang  their  breakfast  upon  them !  (Great 
applause.) 

Now,  you  may  think  that  it  will  do  very  well  for  us 
to  laugh  at  the  fashionable  folly  of  these  poor  ignorant 
barbarous  races,  who  thus  deform  and  destroy  their 
own  beautiful  organizations.  But  what  shall  we  say 
of  enlightened,  Christian,  and  civilized  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, who  are  guilty  of  a  fashionable  custom  of  de- 
forming the  beautiful  image  of  the  Creator,  by  squeez- 
ing it  until  it  looks  like  an  hour-glass — or  rather  like  a 
9 


130  LECTURES   ON  THE 

meal-sack  with  a  string  tied  around  the  middle !  (Ap- 
plause.) We  read  that  man  is  created  in  the  image 
of  God  himself,  and  poets  and  painters  have  imprinted 
upon  the  ideal  form  of  angels,  woman's  form  and  fea 
tures ;  and  yet  —  will  it  be  credited  in  some  future  or 
purer  age?  —  they  are  ashamed  of  the  image  of  the 
God  they  worship,  and  would  render  it  a  little  more 
fashionable  by  the  use  of  strings  and  whalebones ! 
(Great  sensation.) 

But,  says  the  votary  of  fashion,  small  waists  are  beau- 
tiful !  And  says  the  savage,  small  flat  heads  are  beau- 
tiful. What,  then,  is  the  standard  of  beauty  I  If 
you  will  read  Hogarth's  works,  or  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds' 
chaste  and  classical  lectures  upon  "the  art  divine," 
you  will  discover  that  nature  is  the  standard  of  beauty, 
and  that  all  of  those  beautiful  creations  of  genius, 
which  almost  speak  from  the  canvass,  are  but  the  suc- 
cessful combination  of  the  most  beautiful  principles  of 
nature. 

All  of  those  objects  whose  outlines  combine  the 
greatest  number  of  curvilinear  lines  are  regarded  as 
the  most  beautiful.  The  surface  of  the  earth  is  beau- 
tifully diversified  with  hill  and  dale.  The U^tte&m 
meanders  over  the  meadow — the  ivy  creeps  upon  the 
ground — the  oak  sends  forth  its  sturdy  branches,  not 
at  sharp  angles,  but  in  graceful  curves.  In  the  '•  human 
form  divine,"  we  behold  the  greatest  number  of  these 
graceful  curvilinear  outlines,  clearly  demonstrating 
that  it  is  by  far  the  most  beautiful  object  in  external 
nature. 

That  paragon  of  artistic  excellence  and  female  beau- 
ty, the  Venus  de  Medicis,  which  has  long  excited  the 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  131 

admiration  of  the  world,  is  replete  with  these  graceful 
lines. 

' '  So  stands  the  statue  which  enchants  the  world, 
So  bending,  strives  to  conceal  the  matchless  form, 
The  boasted  beauties  of  exulting  Greece  "  ! 

It  is  this  celebrated  statue  which  is  considered  by 
all  living  artists,  as  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  female  perfec- 
tion and  loveliness,  which  artists  visit  from  all  parts  of 
the  world  in  order  that  their  hearts  and  minds  may  be 
inspired  with  the  enthusiasm  which  fired  the  ancient 
masters ! 

"  Here,  too,  the  goddess  lives  in  stone, 
And  fills  the  air  around  with  beauty. 
"Within  the  pale  I  stand,  and  in  that  form  and  face  behold 
What  mind  can  make,  when  nature's  self  would  fail ; 
And  to  the  fond  idolaters  of  old,  envy  the  innate  soul 
Which  such  a  form  could  mould." 

If  you  visit  the  gallery  at  the  Louvre,  or  the  Vatican 
at  Rome,  you  will  there  behold  the  master  works  of  a 
Raphael,  Guido,  Michael  Angelo,  and  Rubens,  the 
greatest  artists  that  the  world  has  ever  known.  As 
you  contemplate  their  matchless  forms,  that  seem  al- 
most to  speak  from  the  canvass,  your  eye  will  seek  in 
vain  for  the  waist  of  the  modern  fashionable  belle ! 
They  painted  for  posterity,  and  they  knew  that  their 
pictures  and  works  of  art  would  live  far  down  in  future 
ages,  as  time  should  roll  on,  only  in  proportion  as  they 
were  the  faithful  transcribers  of  the  eternal  principles 
of  nature ! 

Who,  then,  are  responsible  for  this  false  but  fashion- 
able public  opinion,  so  inimical  to  the  health  and  wel- 
fare of  the  race,  so  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  progress 
and  improvement,  but  its  authors,  these  foolish  young 


132  LECTURES   ON   THE 

men,  who  fill  the  giddy  heads  of  young  ladies  with  the 
most  extravagant  adulation  and  fashionable  nonsense  1 
If  the  modern  female  exercises  in  the  open  air,  or 
gymnasium;  if  she  runs,  leaps,  jumps  and  plays,  in 
accordance  with  her  instincts ;  and  secures,  as  the  legit- 
imate result  of  this  exercise,  rosy  cheeks,  and  a  healthy, 
robust  and  well-formed   body,   this  false  and   idiotic 
public  opinion   esteems   her  too  coarse  and  vulgar ! 
Our  fashionable  young  men  say,  that  "  she  is  as  large 
as  an  elephant,"  or  that  "  she  looks  like  a  great,  coarse, 
stupid,  country  girl,"  or  some  other  equally  stupid  and 
insulting  remark.      These  gentlemen  call  upon  these 
fashionable  young  ladies,  and  tell  them  that  they  have 
a  great  compliment  for  them,  from  a  gentleman.     Of 
course  they  are  all  expectation  to  hear  it,  and  at  last, 
after  a  little  persuasion  on  the  part  of  the  ladies,  they 
are  induced  to  tell  it :    "  Charles  Webster  says  that 
cousin  Sarah  has  the  smallest  and  most  lovely  waist 
that  he  ever  saw  in  his  life."      "  Oh,  what  a  compli- 
ment ! "  says  cousin  Sarah,  and  she  surveys  herself  in 
the  mirror,  to  ascertain  if  it  is  really  so.     I  think  the 
strings  will  get  a  double  pull  after  that !     (Applause.) 
In  the  saloon,  or  upon  the  promenade,  the  pale  and 
sickly,  with  the  broken  backs  and  deformed  waists, 
engross  the  whole  attention  of  our  fashionable  young 
men;  while  the  noble  woman  who  has  dared  to  let 
the  rays  of  the  summer  sun  kiss  her  rosy  cheek  —  who 
has  lived  in  accordance  with  her  own  nature  and  wants, 
is  passed  by  on  the  other  side ! 

Is  it  strange  that,  failing  to  receive  the  countenance 
of  those  whose  good  opinion  she  most  highly  values, 
she  should  become  discouraged,  and  say  to  herself,  "All 


\ 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  138 

of  the  gentleman  say  that  I  am  too  healthy  and  coarse. 
Well,  I  guess  I  willput  on  the  strings,  and  hooks  and 
eyes,  and  eat  pickles,  drink  vinegar,  and  pull  away, 
until  I  get  so  weak  that  I  can  faint  at  the  sight  of  a 
spider,  or  go  into  fits  at  the  sight  of  a  mouse ;  then  all 
of  the  nice  young  men  will  protect  and  flatter  me." 
(Rounds  of  applause.) 

You  see,  gentlemen,  that  all  such  waists  are  made 
to  order,  merely  to  suit  the  market,  and  because  we 
will  not  have  any  other.  If  gentlemen  should  say  to 
the  ladies,  "  natural  waists  or  no  wives,"  the  way  the 
strings,  and  hooks  and  eyes  would  fly  —  (great  laugh- 
ter,) and  if  the  ladies  would  only  say,  "  no  tobacco  or 
no  husbands,"  what  would  become  of  the  trade  of  the 
tobacconist  ?  (Sensation.) 

But  you  need  not  be  alarmed ;  there  is  really  no 
danger ;  for  when  a  young  gentleman  goes  out  at  the 
present  day,  to  select  himself  a  companion  or  partner 
for  life,  he  does  not  stop  to  ask  what  is  the  size  of  her 
lungs,  or  heart,  or  brains,  but  how  large  her  papa's 
purse  is.  If  it  contains  fifty  or  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  it  covers  up  a  multitude  of  defects !  (Applause.) 
And  yet  if  they  were  about  to  purchase  a  cow,  a  horse, 
or  even  a  pig,  they  would  wish  to  know  whether  they 
were  of  good  stock,  whether  they  had  fine  lungs,  were 
healthy,  &c.  Here  the  purse  is  concerned ;  but  there 
the  best  interests  of  posterity  !  We  improve  the  races 
of  the  domestic  animals,  we  cultivate  flowers,  and 
plants,  and  take  much  credit  to  ourselves  for  holding 
agricultural  fairs,  for  the  purpose  of  displaying  our 
success  in  these  departments ;  while  we  leave  our  lean, 
pale,  and  scrofulous  children,  "  that  are  scarcely  worth 


134  LECTURES    ON   THE 

raising,"  at  home,  in  cruel  neglect !  (Sensation  and 
applause.)  When  I  have  visited  these  numerous  exhi- 
bitions, and  have  beheld  these  fine  fat  oxen  and  horses, 
this  beautiful  display  of  fruit,  flowers,  and  vegetables, 
and  have  remembered  that  all  of  these  treasures  were 
the  result  of  careful  cultivation,  I  have  wondered  if 
the  time  ever  would  come  when  man  would  bestow  the 
same  care  and  attention  on  the  cultivation  of  his  fellow- 
man,  that  he  does  now  upon  the  beasts  and  brutes  of 
creation !  If  that  day  ever  shall  come,  it  will  witness 
a  rapidity  of  progress  and  human  improvement  which 
will  seek  in  vain  in  history  for  an  example ! 

3d.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  all  constriction  by  means 
of  dress,  or  otherwise,  which  interferes  with  the  upward 
and  outward  movement  of  the  libs,  also  induces  debil- 
ity of  the  respiratory  organs! 

It  is  not  only  necessary  that  the  dress  should  not  be 
worn  so  tightly  as  to  decrease  the  size  of  the  chest, 
but  it  should  be  sufficiently  loose  to  admit  of  the  free 
and  easy  movement  of  the  ribs.  If  the  dress  is  com- 
posed of  inelastic  material,  and  filled  with  pieces  of 
whalebone  to  make  it  set  smooth,  and  is  then  closely 
fitted  to  the  ribs,  it  would  impede  their  motions, 
although  it  does  not  decrease  the  size  of  the  chest. 
The  chest  increases  and  decreases  in  size  at  each  inspi- 
ration and  expiration,  and  if  the  garments  fit  too  closely 
to  the  chest,  and  are  composed  of  inelastic  material, 
they  as  effectually  destroy  the  purposes  of  respiration 
as  though  they  decreased  its  size.  There  is,  then,  the 
same  danger  in  wearing  a  dress  of  this  description, 
which  is  securely  fastened  with  numerous  hooks  and 
eyes,  that  there  was  in  wearing  the  old  fashioned  boned 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  135 

and  stringed  instrument  of  fashionable  torture,  which 
has  been  hunted  from  all  reasoning  and  reflecting  soci- 
ety! 

At  the  close  of  my  lectures  in  different  parts  of  this 
country,  ladies  often  assure  me  that  they  do  not  dress 
too  tightly,  but  that  they  know  of  several  that  do  dress 
in  this  improper  manner;  that  their  waists  are  natu- 
rally very  small,  &c.  And,  as  if  to  confirm  the  truth 
of  the  assertion,  they  place  their  fingers  under  the 
point  of  the  waist  of  the  dress,  and  raise  it  up  a  little, 
and  say,  "  Doctor,  see  how  loose  it  is."  Now,  unfor- 
tunately, this  is  no  criterion  to  judge  by  at  all.  Your 
lungs  are  not,  unfortunately  for  the  success  of  this 
experiment,  situated  in  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen, 
beneath  the  point  of  the  bodice  of  the  dress,  (laughter) ; 
but  they  are  situated  high  up  in  each  side  of  the  cav- 
ity of  the  chest !  If  you  would  ascertain  how  far  your 
lungs  extend  downwards  on  each  side,  you  may  easily 
do  so  by  measuring  downwards  six  inches  from  the 
middle  of  the  collar  bone.  You  will  observe  that  the 
lungs  are  not  much  more  than  half  as  long  as  is  gene- 
rally supposed,  and  that  they  do  not  extend  much 
below  the  point  where  you  feel  the  heart  pulsating. 

The  only  safe  criterion  which  will  enable  you  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  dress  which  you  wear  is  too  tight  or 
not,  is  the  following  experiment.  Now,  ladies,  I  do  not 
wish  you  to  try  this  experiment  here  this  evening,  in 
the  presence  of  so  large  a  number  of  young  gentlemen, 
for  fear  of  what  might  happen !  Indeed  I  know  that 
the  trial  of  this  experiment  is  often  attended  with  an 
explosion  that  is  extremely  dangerous,  unless  you  are 
concealed  behind  the  door  !  (Laughter.)  When  you 


136          LECTURES   ON  THE  PHILO  SOPHY   OF   LIFE. 

go  home  this  evening,  and  wish  to  ascertain  the  influ- 
ence of  your  dress  in  checking  the  freedom  of  respira- 
tion, stand  upon  your  feet  in  the  middle  of  the  room 
and  raise  your  hands  from  your  sides  until  they  are 
higher  than  your  shoulders ;  and  while  you  maintain 
them  in  this  position,  if  you  can  draw  in  a  deep  and 
full  inspiration  without  feeling  that  the  dress  constricts 
the  chest  a  little  along  the  ribs,  under  the  arms,  you 
can  safely  pass  this  natural  ordeal  and  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  knowing  that  you  are  not,  by  the  indulgence  of 
a  foolish  fashion,  producing  for  yourselves,  inexpressi- 
ble pain  and  anguish,  and  perhaps  premature  death ! 
It  is  perhaps  proper  for  me  to  say,  in  connection  with 
this  subject,  that  there  is  not  one  fashionably  dressed 
female  in  one  hundred,  that  can  successfully  pass  this 
ordeal ! 

The  annexed  outline  of  the  celebrated  Greek  Slave,  by 
Powers,  the  distinguished  American  artist,  represents 
the  ne  plus  ultra  of  female  perfection  and  beauty  of 
physical  development.  This  statue  has  been  exhibit- 
ed in  the  chief  cities  of  Europe  and  the  United  States, 
and  has  been  visited  by  thousands  of  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, and  drew  the  first  prize  at  the  recent  World's 
Fair,  where  it  was  regarded  by  thousands  with  very 
great  interest,  on  account  of  its  singular  beauty  and 
perfection.  Many  of  our  tight-waisted  fair  friends, 
would  do  well  to  model  their  chests  after  this  beau 
ideal  of  female  perfection. 


Powers'  Greek  Slave. 


138  LECTURES    ON   THE 

While  lecturing  in  a  neighboring  town  upon  this 
subject,  only  the  other  day,  a  gentleman,  having  an 
only  daughter  at  home,  observed  to  her  after  listening 
to  my  lecture  one  evening :  "  My  daughter,  let  me  see 
if  you  can  pass  the  Doctor's  ordeal  safely  ! "  "  Oh  l^ 
yes,"  says  she,  "  papa,  I  can."  And  she  raised  up  her 
hands  and  drew  in  a  full  breath ;  and  such  an  explo- 
sion, as  she  burst  off  the  whole  of  the  hooks  and  eyes 
from  her  dress !  (Applause.)  So  be  careful,  ladies, 
and  not  try  any  of  these  experiments  in  the  presence 
of  gentlemen !  In  reference  to  dress,  the  female  would 
do  well  to  follow  the  directions  of  the  poet  to  the 
painter. 

"  Free  o'er  the  limbs  the  graceful  vesture  cast, 
The  light,  broad  folds  in  grace  majestic  place, 
And  as  each  figure  moves  a  different  way, 
Give  the  broad  plaits  their  corresponding  play, 
Yet  devious  oft,  and  swelling  from  the  part, 
The  flowing  robe,  with  ease  should  seem  to  start  ; 
Not  on  the  chest  in  stiff  adhesion  laid, 
But  well  relieved  by  gentle  light  and  shade. 

4th.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  the  exercise  of  the 
lungs,  within  certain  limits,  increases  their  size  and 
power ! 

The  lungs,  when  subjected  to  the  power  of  the  human 
mind  and  moral  sentiments,  are  much  like  the  clay  in 
the  hands  of  the  potter,  capable  of  being  moulded  into 
the  beautiful  vessel  so  faultless  in  its  proportions ! 
At  birth,  we  possess  but  the  rudiments  of  these  or- 
gans, and  by  exercise,  as  we  advance  in  life,  they  are 
capable  of  being  unfolded  and  developed,  until  they 
become  large,  strong,  and  powerful !  And  so  also  of 
the  rudiments  of  the  human  mind  and  feelings ;  they 


•    * 
PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  139 


are  innate  or  Heaven-born;  but  the  transcendant  pow- 
ers of  the  statesman,  poet,  and  scholar,  as  well  as  the 
sacred  sentiments  and  affections  of  the  philanthropist, 
depend  upon  the  education  or  cultivation  which  we 
have  received  in  infancy  !  Strike  out  common  schools  ; 
shut  up  our  religious  temples  and  seminaries  of  learn- 
ing, and  rapid  will  be  the  march  of  man  back  to  a 
state  of  mental  and  moral  imbecility  and  barbarism ! 
What  is  true  of  our  mental  and  moral,  is,  also  true  of 
our  physical  nature.  Close  the  play-grounds  and  the 
gymnasium,  and  deny  access  to  the  green  hills  and  rich 
valleys  to  the  youth  of  our  land,  for  physical  education 
and  manly  exercise,  for  the  development  of  the  young 
and  feeble  powers  of  their  physical  organization,  and 
rapid  will  be  the  decline  of  the  health,  strength  and 
beauty  of  the  American  race ! 

The  lungs  may  be  called  into  action  directly  and  in- 
directly, by  physical  exercise.  If  the  young  lady  sits 
or  reclines  upon  the  sofa,  her  lungs  move  slowly,  and 
the  number  of  inspirations  is  diminished.  If  on  the 
contrary  she  runs,  romps  and  plays,  her  lungs  are  far 
more  active,  and  a  larger  quantity  of  air  is  introduced 
into  the  system.  Idleness  and  indolence  are  often  the 
parents  of  pulmonary  consumption;  and  this  is  the 
reason  why  this  disease  is  so  often  the  scourge  of  the 
wealthy  and  the  affluent.  They  frequently  neglect  the 
development  of  their  chests,  and  the  education  of  their 
lungs,  by  wholesome  exercise  in  the  open  air. 

If  your  sons  and  daughters  have  weak  lungs,  remove 
the  debility  by  well-regulated  physical  exercise.  En- 
courage your  daughters  to  play  the  graces,  or  drive  the 
hoop  and  jump  the  rope,  in  the  open  air.  Such  exer- 


140 


LECTURES   ON   THE 


else  calls  into  action  the  muscles  of  the  arms  and  chest, 
increasing  the  size  of  its  cavity,  and  developing  the 
lungs  and  vital  organs.  If  this  kind  of  physical  train- 
ing were  better  attended  to  in  infancy  and  youth,  there 
would  be  comparatively  little  danger  of  consumption, 
as  we  advance  in  life ! 

Many  of  the  most  learned  and  distinguished  mem- 
bers of  the  medical  profession  have  arrested  a  strong 
predisposition  to  this  disease  —  not  by  shutting  them- 
selves up  in  warm  rooms  at  a  temperature  of  sixty  or 
seventy  degrees,  and  taking  sarsaparilla  and  cod  liver 
oil  —  but  by  taking  their  staff  in  hand,  with  a  knap- 
sack thrown  over  their  shoulder  and  wending  their 
way  across  the  broad  Alps  or  Alleghanies.  As  they 
ascend  the  steep  and  rugged  declivities  of  these  moun- 
tain ranges,  they  will  be  compelled  to  arrest  their 
steps  frequently  in  order  to  inhale  the  fresh  breezes ; 
and  as  they  wipe  the  perspiration  from  their  brows 
they  will  feel  a  freedom  from  that  uncomfortable  tight- 
ness across  the  chest,  which  they  had  not  experienced 
for  many  months !  The  celebrated  Dr.  Liston,  the  dis- 
tinguished British  Surgeon  of  London,  was,  during  his 
lifetime,  in  the  habit  of  rowing  a  boat  upon  the  Thames 
one  hour  every  morning  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
his  chest  and  developing  his  lungs,  and,  as  he  often 
declared,  with  the  most  astonishing  success.  When 
Dr.  Parrish,  of  Philadelphia,  was  attacked  with  pul- 
monary consumption  many  years  since,  he  did  not  shut 
himself  up  in  the  house,  and  begin  to  take  various 
quack  nostrums.  No;  he  had  seen  the  results  of  that 
practice  long  enough,  and  knew  that  it  was  death! 
He  went  out  upon  his  farm  in  the  open  air  and  worked 


Ne-  •*•- 

PHILOSOPHY   OE    LIFE.  141 

it  off  in  a  few  months ;  and  dying  several  years  after- 
wards, his  medical  friends  found  upon  examining  his 
chest,  the  large  cicatrix  or  scar  produced  by  the  heal- 
ing of  the  ulcerated  cavity,  demonstrating  that  they 
were  not  mistaken  in  the  nature  of  his  disease ! 

If  we  would  then  preserve  the  health  and  strength 
of  our  lungs  as  we  advance  in  life,  we  must  daily  ex- 
ercise them  in  the  open  air.  And  especially  will  this 
be  the  more  necessary  among  those  who  are  engaged 
in  sedentary  and  inactive  employments.  The  retired 
merchant,  after  having  secured  wealth  as  the  result  of 
his  toil  and  close  attention  to  business,  erects  for  him- 
self his  country  mansion  and  determines  to  enjoy  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  ease  and  affluence,  and  is  often 
disappointed  in  his  expectation,  by  the  premature  de- 
velopment of  pulmonary  disease. 

5th.  It  is  a  natural  law,  that  grief,  melancholy,  and 
despair  depress  the  mind,  and  decrease  the  action  of 
the  lungs. 

If  you  observe  the  long,  infrequent,  and  fitful  respi- 
ration induced  by  grief  and  despair,  you  cannot  fail  to 
understand  what  must  be  the  exhausting  and  debilita- 
ting influence  of  such  emotions  !  "  The  breathlessness 
of  despair,"  which  we  read  of  in  the  poets,  often  causes 
the  most  complete  and  perfect  exhaustion,  terminating 
in  fits  and  convulsions !  Can  it  be  possible  that  such 
powerful  mental  shocks,  expending  their  chief  influence 
upon  the  pulmonary  organs,  shall  not,  in  the  process 
of  time,  develop  disease  of  a  fatal  character]  The 
disappointments  of  ambition,  and  the  despair  and  mel- 
ancholy produced  by  misfortune,  together  with  the 
disagreements  and  jealousies  of  domestic  life,  I  fear, 
but  too  often  induce  this  fatal  disease. 


142  LECTUEES    ON   THE 


The  ingratitude  which  woman  experiences  from  man, 
is  a  subject  on  which  I  have  often  meditated  with 
painful  feelings. 

Says  Dr.  Johnson,  in  his  work  on  the  "  Economy  of 
Health,"  "  Had  not  the  God  of  nature  added  instinct 
to  reason,  in  the  human  female  heart,  the  race  of  man 
would  long  since  have  ceased  to  exist!  The  pains, 
the  penalties,  the  toils,  the  cares  and  the  anxieties  of 
our  mothers,  on  our  account,  are  not  repaid  by  any 
thing  like  an  adequate  degree  of  gratitude,  on  the  part 
of  their  offspring.  Nothing,  indeed,  can  compensate 
the  female  parent  for  what  she  undergoes,  on  the  part 
of  her  children ;  and  boasted  reason  would  sink  under 
the  task,  or  shrink  from  the  duty,  had  not  the  omnis- 
cient Creator  infused  into  the  mother's  heart  the  irre- 
sistible instinct  of  the  lioness,  which  prompts  the  savage 
animal  to  die  in  defence  of  its  progeny !  In  the  savage 
beast,  the  instinctive  feeling  soon  ceases,  and  reason 
being  absent,  all  sympathy  between  parent  and  progeny 
ceases  also.  But  not  so  with  the  human  female  parent. 
The  primary  instinct  is  never  entirely  obliterated,  but 
cherished  by  the  nobler  gift  of  reason.  Is  it  not  strange 
that  the  ancient  poets,  when  deifying  so  many  of  the 
meaner  attributes  of  human  nature,  forgot  maternal 
affection  1  They  have  clothed  in  the  robes  of  divinity 
the  barbarous  monster  who  slaughtered  the  children  of 
Niobe,  when  they  ought  to  have  deified  the  paternal 
agony  which  the  mother  felt,  and  which  even  the  mar- 
ble yet  breathes  forth ! "  The  immortal  poet,  Campbell, 
has  personified  this  same  maternal  love  of  offspring,  in 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  forms,  under  which  he  delin- 
eates his  "  angel  of  life,"  his  favorite  hope. 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  143 

"  Lo  !  at  the  couch,  where  infant  beauty  sleeps, 
Her  silent  watch  the  mournful  mother  keeps ; 
And  weaves  a  song  of  melancholy  joy  — 
'  Sleep,  image  of  thy  father ;  sleep,  my  boy  ! 
Thy  fame,  thy  worth,  thy  filial  love,  at  last, 
Shall  soothe  this  aching  heart  for  all  the  past ; 
With  many  a  smile  my  solitude  repay, 
And  chase  the  world's  ungenerous  scorn  away.' ' 

That  it  is  the  instinctive  love  of  offspring,  rather 
than  the  hope  of  a  return  of  love  and  filial  duty,  which 
fills  the  mother's  breast  with  the  musings  so  beautifully 
described  by  the  poet,  I  firmly  believe.  Indeed,  I 
think  that  the  poet  himself  has  proved  it ;  for  soon 
afterwards  he  breaks  forth  thus : 

"  So  speaks  affection,  ere  the  infant  eye 
Can  look  regard,  or  brighten  in  reply." 

There  is  another  train  of  reflection  which  the  poet 
causes  to  pass  through  the  mind  of  the  mother,  while 
gazing  on  her  unconscious  babe,  and  which  I  believe 
to  be  more  natural — certainly  more  sublime  and  disin- 
terested than  that  which  he  has  already  portrayed. 

"  And  say,  when  summoned  from  the  world  and  thee, 
I  lay  my  head  beneath  the  willow  tree, 
Wilt  thou,  sweet  mourner,  at  my  stone  appear, 
And  soothe  my  parted  spirit  lingering  near  ? 
Oh !  wilt  thou  come,  at  evening  hour,  to  shed 
The  tear  of  memory  o'er  my  narrow  bed  — 
Breathe  a  deep  sigh  to  winds  that  murmur  low, 
And  think  on  all  my  love  and  all  my  wo  ?  " 

In  that  passage,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  there  is  a 
thought  worthy  of  an  immortal  being,  and  in  itself 
indicative  of  immortality !  Oh,  let  us  cherish  the  vir- 
tues and  the  love  of  woman ;  for,  indeed,  she  cannot 
receive  sufficient  gratitude  for  what  she  has  suffered 
on  account  of  her  offspring ! 


144  LECTUEES    ON    THE 

6th.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  pure,  fresh,  atmospheric 
air  is  essential  to  support  healthy  respiration. 

The  lungs  of  the  human  being  will  contain  about 
one  gallon  of  air  at  a  time,  about  one-half  of  which  is 
inhaled  and  exhaled  every  inspiration  and  expiration. 
We  breathe  about  twenty  times  each  minute,  and  every 
time  we  breathe,  we  introduce  and  discharge  from  the 
lungs  about  two  quarts  of  air,  or  ten  gallons  per  min- 
ute. We  breathe  1200  times  per  hour,  and  inhale  600 
gallons  of  fresh  air.  We  breathe  over  28,000  times  in 
twenty-four  hours,  and  inhale  more  than  14,000  gallons, 
or  50  hhds.  of  fresh  air  in  the  same  length  of  time. 
We  exhale  or  breathe  out  of  the  lungs  about  26  cubic 
inches  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  or  impure  air,  per  minute, 
or  1460  cubic  inches  per  hour,  and  more  than  17,000 
cubic  inches  every  twenty-four  hours  of  our  lives. 

From  these  statistics,  you  can  form  some  opinion  of 
the  immense  importance  of  the  perfect  ventilation  of 
all  sleeping  apartments,  public  buildings,  and  dwellings 
occupied  by  human  beings.  If  this  room  were  closed 
so  as  to  be  air-tight,  a  room  large  enough  to  seat  a 
thousand  persons,  we  should  all  suffocate  and  die  in  a 
few  hours !  Catch,  if  you  please,  a  fly  from  the  window, 
and  enclose  it  in  this  small  glass  phial,  and  then  seal 
it  with  a  little  sealing  wax,  so  that  its  mouth  shall  be 
air-tight,  as  I  now  do  this  one,  and  you  will  see  that 
the  fly  will  die  in  two  or  three  minutes !  Again :  catch 
a  beautiful  humming-bird,  an  animal  whose  lungs  ex- 
haust large  quantities  of  air,  and  inclose  it  in  this  small 
glass  jar,  which  is  air-tight,  and  as  soon  as  it  has  ex 
hausted  or  breathed  all  of  the  vital  air,  which  takes, 
as  you  will  see,  but  a  few  moments,  it  droops  and  dies  ! 
(Great  sensation  produced  by  these  experiments.) 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  145 

Now  what,  think  you,  must  be  the  influence  of  the 
same  conditions  upon  the  human  constitution  ?     Some 
two  years  since  a  steamer  left  the  port  of  Dublin  for 
Liverpool,  with  a  large  number  of  emigrants  and  pas- 
sengers ;  and  a  storm  coming  on  during  the  night,  in 
the  noise  and  confusion  usually  attendant  upon  such 
occasions,  the  hatches  were  closed  down,  and  more 
than  seventy  passengers  were  suffocated,  and  perished 
for  want  of  fresh  air  during  the  night !     Their  cries  of 
distress,  and  screams  of  despair,  were  not  heard,  owing 
to  the  prevalence  of  the  storm  !     The  melancholy  con- 
sequences of  violating  this  natural  law,  were  remarkably 
exemplified  by  the  confinement  of  the  English  priso- 
ners in  the  Black  Hole,  or  dungeon  of  Calcutta,  a  large 
number  of  whom  perished  for  want  of  fresh  air  during 
the   night;    and   those  who  survived  until  morning, 
were  soon  seized  with  malignant  and  putrid  diseases, 
which  proved  fatal  in  a  few  days  !     Carbonic  acid  gas, 
or  impure  air,  is  heavier  than  the  atmosphere,  and 
sinks  into  the  valleys,  caves,  old  wells,  grottos,  cellars. 
&c.     It  is  often  dangerous,  for  this  reason,  for  persons 
to  descend  into  wells  or  caves,  without  first  throwing 
down  a  bundle  of  lighted  straw  or  faggots,  which  warms 
the  poisonous  air,  and  renders  it  lighter,  so  that  it  as- 
cends and  is  expelled !     When  we  first  breathe  out,  or 
exhale  this  gas,  it  is  lighter  than  the  surrounding 
atmosphere,  but  as  soon  as  its  temperature  is  equalized, 
it  sinks  again  to  its  natural  position.     Those  emigrants 
who  select  the  lower  berths   on  board  our  packets,  are 
for  this  reason  much  more  liable  to  nervous  or  ship 
fever,  than  those  who  occupy  the  upper  berths,  because 
they  are  continually,  during  the  night,  inhaling  the 
10 


146  LECTURES   ON  THE 

impure  air  that  has  been  exhaled  by  their  more  fortu- 
nate friends  above  them  !  In  many  instances,  the  phy- 
sician is  startled  from  his  slumbers  during  the  night, 
by  the  calls  of  some  neighbor  in  distress.  He  hurries 
on  his  clothes  in  great  haste,  and  then  inquires  what 
is  the  matter1?  and  is  informed  that  his  neighbor's 
child  is  attacked  with  the  croup !  After  walking  a 
few  squares,  he  enters  the  house ;  and  the  moment  the 
door  of  the  sick  room  is  thrown  open  to  receive  him, 
his  nostrils  are  saluted  with  an  odor  which  explains  to 
him  at  once,  the  cause  of  the  mischief!  He  looks 
around  the  sleeping  apartment,  in  many  instances 
nothing  but  a  little  box  about  eight  or  ten  feet  square, 
and  he  soon  discovers  that  the  mother  has  filled  all  the 
cracks  and  crevices  about  the  windows  with  pieces  of 
paper,  for  fear  a  little  of  the  fresh  air  should  get  in, 
and  give  the  children  a  bad  cold,  &c.  If  he  stops  for 
a  moment  to  enumerate  the  inhabitants  of  such  a  room, 
he  will  find,  in  many  instances,  first,  a  large  bed  for  the 
parents  and  a  young  infant;  and  from  beneath  this 
large  bed  there  is  drawn  every  night,  a  trundle  bed, 
and  into  that  there  are  crowded  two  or  three  children — 
six  persons  in  all,  in  a  room  of  that  size,  whose  door 
and  windows  are  shut  almost  air-tight!  (Sensation.) 
The  father  and  the  mother  first  breathe  over  all  of  the 
fresh  air  up  above  and  then  send  it  down  for  their 
weak  and  rickety  children  to  breathe  after  them! 
Is  it  a  wonder,  under  such  circumstances,  that  the 
younger  and  more  feeble  ones  have  croup  and  scrofula — 
that  they  are  lean,  lank,  and  sickly,  and  always  want 
purifying  vegetable  pills,  and  sarsaparilla,  cod  liver  oil, 
&C.?  (Sensation  and  applause.)  If  you  contrast  these 


PHILOSOPHY   OP   LIFE.  147 

children  with  those  that  live  in  the  open  log  cabin, 
through  whose  open  roof  they  can 

"Behold  the  broad  canopy  of  Heaven, 
Thickly  inlaid  with  stars  of  bright  gold" — 

you  will  discover  in  their  red  and  rosy  cheeks  and 
blooming  health,  some  of  the  benefits  of  breathing  fresh 
air !  "  The  symptoms  of  breathing  impure  air,  or  car- 
bonic acid  gas,"  says  Orfila,  the  President  of  the  French 
Academy,  "  are,  first,  dryness  of  the  throat ;  second, 
ringing  in  the  ears ;  and  third,  a  feeling  of  oppression 
or  weight  through  the  temples  !"  Now,  how  many  of 
this  audience  suffer  more  or  less  from  these  feelings 
every  day  1  Many  ladies  and  gentlemen  often  ask  me 
what  is  the  cause  of  the  formation  of  this  tough  mucus 
in  their  throats,  and  this  want  of  appetite  in  the  morn- 
ing. All  of  it  is  produced  by  inhaling  air  that  is 
loaded  with  noxious  vapors  ! 

But,  says  some  one  in  this  audience,  you  would  not 
surely  advise  us  to  breathe  the  damp  night  air,  would 
you  I  Damp  night  air  1  Why,  the  air  in  your  close 
and  ill-ventilated  sleeping  apartment,  which  is  loaded 
with  the  poisonous  vapours  exhaled  from  your  lungs  is 
much  damper  than  the  atmosphere,  as  may  be  shown 
from  some  very  simple  philosophical  experiments,  and 
it  is  not  only  damp,  but  it  is  poisonous  and  fatal  to  life 
and  health ! 

You  need  not  be  afraid  then  to  let  in  a  little  fresh 
air  during  the  night,  for,  rest  assured,  the  all-wise  and 
benevolent  Creator  made  it  to  be  breathed,  and  it 
won't  hurt  you  half  as  much  as  you  may  think  it  will ! 
(A  laugh.)  At  all  events,  be  sure  that  you  raise  the 
window  a  little  before  you  catch  cold,  and  not  be 


148  LECTURES    ON   THE 

like  the  lady  at  Lewistown,  whose  husband  heard  my 
lecture  upon  this  subject,  and  then  went  home  and 
raised  up  the  window  in  his  children's  sleeping  room. 
His  wife,  who  was  down  stairs,  hearing  him  raise  the 
window,  supposed  that  it  was  in  her  room  that  he  was 
raising  the  window ;  and  upon  retiring  soon  after,  found 
much  fault  with  her  husband,  as  she  was  sure  that 
they  would  all  catch  their  death  of  cold.  But  the 
husband  said  nothing,  remarking  to  me  afterwards  that 
he  thought  he  would  see  what  conceit  would  do  for 
once.  After  retiring,  the  wife  supposing  that  the  win- 
dow was  up,  was  seized  with  cold  chills,  and  kept 
nudging  her  husband  with  her  elbow,  declaring  that  her 
young  infant  was  getting  the  croup,  until  finally  after 
daylight  in  the  morning  she  looked  down  to  the  foot  of 
the  bed,  and  found  that  the  window  was  closed,  just 
as  it  always  had  been  before !  She  said  nothing,  but 
drew  her  head  down  beneath  the  quilt  and  soon  slept 
soundly.  Her  husband  soon  after  arose  and  dressed 
the  little  boys,  who  flew  around  the  house  as  lively  as 
young  crickets,  and  as  hungry  as  wolves,  while  he  pre- 
pared their  breakfast  for  them.  By  and  by  the  mother 
came  slowly  down,  and  the  husband  greeting  her  with 
a  smile,  asked  her,  "How  is  your  cough  this  morning'?" 
"Do  you  think  the  baby  has  got  the  croup  ?  "  "  Had 
I  better  go  after  the  Doctor?  "  &c. !  (Great  applause.) 
Now,  I  advise  all  of  these  old  croakers  to  be  sure  and 
get  the  window  up  before  they  catch  cold,  or  they  may 
be  laughed  at ! 

As  for  myself,  I  may  be  excused  for  saying  that  six 
years  since,  I  weighed  about  135  pounds,  and  was  sub- 
ject to  indigestion,  nervous  debility,  palpitation  and  all 
the  fashionable  aches  and  complaints  !  Since  that  time 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  149 

I  have  slept  with  my  window  up  both  summer  and 
winter,  in  clear  and  in  stormy  weather,  and  I  now 
weigh  about  212  pounds,  and  am  so  fat  and  fleshy  that 
I  can  scarcely  get  my  boots  on  in  the  morning.  (Ap- 
plause.) I  could  not  sleep  at  all  with  the  window 
down.  I  should  feel  as  though  I  would  suffocate  ! 
When  Kit  Carson  and  Col.  Fremont  returned  to  Fort 
Leavenworth  from  their  long  tour  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains they  were  invited  to  sleep  in  one  of  the  well  fur- 
nished houses  appropriated  to  the  United  States  officers. 
During  the  night  they  found  it  impossible  for  them  to 
sleep  in  fashionable  quarters,  and  were  compelled  to 
get  up,  and  go  out  into  the  neighboring  field  and  throw 
themselves  down  upon  their  blankets.  They  had  slept 
so  long  in  the  open  air,  that  they  could  not  endure  the 
close,  suffocating  atmosphere  of  a  modern  sleeping 
apartment !  The  Indians  sleep  in  open  air,  or  in  open 
huts,  and  wigwams ;  and  they  do  not  take  cold,  nor  are 
they  subject  to  that  fell  disease,  pulmonary  consump- 
tion, which  is  estimated  to  destroy  at  least  its  seventy 
thousand  victims  in  the  United  States,  annually !  Con- 
trast the  physical  condition  of  the  Indian  who  roams 
freely  over  the  western  prairie  and  through  the  western 
forests  with  the  thousands  of  unfortunate  operatives 
who  are  pent  up  in  our  countless  factories  throughout 
this  land,  and  what  a  wide  difference  you  will  behold 
in  their  physical  condition ! 

Ye  who  would  wear  a  body  free  from  pain, 
Of  cares  a  mind,  fly  the  rank  city ; 
The  rural  wilds  invite,  the  mountains  call  ye, 
The  wood,  the  vale,  the  stream,  the  ambrosial  breeze 
That  fans  an  ever  undulating  sky,  a  kindly  sky, 
Whose  fostering  care  regales  man,  beast,  and  all  the  vegetable  reign. 


LECTURE  V, 


THE   SKIN. 

YOUR  attention  is  respectfully  invited  this  evening, 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Human  Skin,  and  its  appendages,  the  hair  and  the 
nails. 

The  skin  is  generally  regarded  by  the  great  majori- 
ty of  mankind  as  that  membrane  which  is  thrown 
around  the  outside  surface  of  the  human  body  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  the  more  important  organs, 
which  are  placed  immediately  beneath  it.  But  this  is 
indeed  but  a  limited  view  of  the  nature,  extent,  and 
usefulness  of  the  functions  of  this  important  mem- 
brane. The  skin  is  not  only  thrown  around  the  out- 
side surface  of  the  human  body  for  the  above  purposes, 
but  it  is  also  reflected  inwards,  forming  the  lining  sur- 
face of  the  lungs,  and  the  intestinal  canal,  where  it  is 
called  the  mucous  membrane.  It  also  invests  the  brain 
and  the  lungs,  and  is  thrown  over  the  bowels,  and  lines 
the  inner  surface  of  the  abdominal  cavity.  If  you 
examine  many  of  the  inferior  animals,  as  for  instance 
the  hydra,  you  will  observe  the  intimate  relation 
which  exists  between  the  skin  on  the  outside  sur- 


LECTURES   ON  THE  PHILO  S  OPH  Y    OF   LIFE.  151 

face  of  the  body  and  that  which  lines  its  inner  cavi- 
ties. In  the  center  of  this  animal,  you  will  observe  its 
stomach,  formed  by  a  simple  reflexion  of  the  skin  in- 
wards, leaving  a  single  opening  at  its  mouth  which 
communicates  with  the  atmospheric  air.  If  you  pass 
a  needle,  armed  with  a  thread  of  silk,  through  this 
cavity,  you  may  invert  it  or  turn  the  animal  wrong 
side  out  without  appearing  to  injure  its  digestive  func- 
tions. The  skin,  under  such  circumstances,  forms  a 
new  stomach,  which  is  capable  of  performing  all  of  the 
functions  of  the  original,  in  a  short  period  of  time.  It 
is  only  by  examining  and  experimenting  upon  some  of 
the  more  simply  constituted  animals,  that  we  can  dis- 
cover the  nature  and  the  use  of  certain  parts  in  the 
more  complicated  organization  and  structure  of  the 
human  body. 

A  knowledge  of  the  similarity  of  structure  and  func- 
tions of  these  various  mettibranous  surfaces,  is  of  the 
highest  practical  importance ;  since  it  is  a  well  known 
physiological  law,  that  like  organs  having  like  func- 
tions, sympathise  with  each  other;  and  impressions 
produced  upon  one  organ,  frequently  produce  disease 
in  another  organ,  of  similar  anatomical  structure  and 
functions.  Thus :  it  will  be  seen  that  the  eyes  resemble 
each  other  in  structure  and  functions.  If  you  get  a 
mote  or  grain  of  sand  in  one  eye,  not  unfrequently 
both  eyes  shed  copious  quantities  of  tears.  If  the  skin 
on  the  outside  surface  of  the  child's  neck  and  chest 
is  exposed  to  the  "  rude  and  chilling  zephyr,"  it  pro- 
duces inflammation  of  the  mucous  membrane  lining 
the  throat,  or  bronchial  tubes  of  the  lungs ;  and  if  one 
fifth  part  of  the  skin  on  the  surface  of  the  human  body 


152  LECTURES    ON   THE 

is  burned  or  scalded,  death  inevitably  takes  place — not 
in  consequence  of  the  burn  on  the  outside  of  the  body, 
but  from  its  influence  upon  the  surfaces  of  the  deeply- 
seated  vital  organs,  causing,  in  many  instances,  inflam- 
mation and  mortification ! 

If  we  remove  a  part  of  the  skin  from  the  arm,  and 
digest  it  for  a  short  time  in  water,  we  shall  be  able  to 
separate  it  into  three  principal  layers,  known  as  the 
cuticle,  or  scarf  skin,  the  rete  mucosum,  or  colored 
layer,  and  the  cutis  vera,  or  true  skin,  all  of  which  have 
different  functions  assigned  to  them,  a  knowledge  of 
which  is  necessary  to  enable  us  to  understand  the  in- 
fluence of  the  skin  upon  health. 

The  texture  of  the  skin,  as  you  will  perceive,  varies 
at  different  periods  of  life,  being  soft  and  delicate  in 
infancy,  and  coarser  and  thrown  into  numerous  folds, 
by  reason  of  the  absorption  of  the  fat  situated  in  the 
cellular  tissue  beneath,  as  we  advance  in  life.  It  is 
also  much  softer  and  finer  in  its  texture  in  the  female 
than  in  the  male.  It  varies  from  one-eighth  to  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  in  general  appear- 
ance resembles  so  strikingly  the  skin  of  a  certain 
domestic  animal,  raised  very  abundantly  in  the  State  of 
Ohio,  as  not  to  require  me  to  give  the  characteristic 
grunt,  to  designate  the  name  more  clearly.  (Laughter 
and  applause.)  In  early  life,  the  interstices  of  the 
muscles  are  filled  up  by  the  deposit  of  fat,  which  dis- 
tends the  skin,  and  gives  to  its  outside  surface  that 
smooth,  round  and  graceful  appearance  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  health  and  beauty,  in  the  human 
form ! 

The  outside  layer  of  the  skin  differs  from  all  of  the 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  153 

other  layers,  in  its  general  want  of  organization.  If 
you  cut  it  with  a  knife,  or  prick  it  with  a  pin,  it  does 
not  bleed,  nor  does  it  appear  to  possess  any  sensibility 
productive  of  the  sense  of  pain.  It  appears,  in  fact,  to 
be  a  simple,  inorganized,  or  dead  layer  of  albuminous 
matter,  spread  over  the  outside  surface  of  the  human 
body,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  its  delicate  blood- 
vessels and  nerves  from  injury.  It  diminishes  the 
intensity  of  the  impressions  made  by  external  agents 
upon  the  sensitive  nerves ;  and  yet  its  walls  are  so  thin, 
that  they  do  not  impair  the  accuracy  and  delicacy  of 
the  sense  of  tact  and  touch. 

Many  of  our  ordinary  impressions  would  be  produc- 
tive of  painful  sensations,  were  it  not  for  the  protective 
influence  of  this  important  membrane.  Even  the  cool- 
ing zephyr,  which  produces  such  a  grateful  impression, 
as  it  fans  the  brow  of  the  weary  traveler,  upon  a  warm, 
summer  day,  would  produce  the  most  exquisite  agony, 
if  it  were  not  for  the  intervention  of  its  delicate  layers. 
Its  protective  influence  is  again  remarkably  exempli- 
fied in  its  increased  thickness,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, where  the  parts  beneath  require  additional  pro- 
tection. If  the  mechanic  diligently  plies  his  hammer, 
the  delicate  nerves  on  the  palms  of  his  hands  are  pre- 
served from  injury  by  the  increased  thickness  of  the 
cuticle,  which,  in  many  instances,  rises  up  in  hard 
knots  or  ridges,  for  that  purpose. 

The  cuticle  is  composed  of  dried  albumen,  a  sub- 
stance which  resembles  the  dried  white  of  an  egg — the 
same  material  which  enters  into  the  formation  of  the 
hair  and  the  nails,  which  are  its  appendages.  If  you 


154 


LECTURES   ON   THE 


examine  this  microscopic  diagram  of  the  three  layers  of 
the  skin,  you  observe  that  the  cuticle  is  composed  of 


numerous  layers,  which  are  constantly  forming  by  the 
deposit  of  the  albuminous  principle  from  the  blood, 
upon  its  under  surface ;  while  the  outside  layers  are 
constantly  peeling  off,  in  the  form  of  dandruff  or  scurf. 
This  layer  assumes  many  different  forms  in  the  inferior 
animals,  constituting  the  scales  of  fishes,  and  the  shell 
of  the  turtle ;  and  even  in  man,  sometimes  it  takes  on 
a  diseased  action,  and  becomes  remarkably  thickened, 
over  the  entire  surface  of  the  human  body ! 

The  rete  mucosum  or  mucous  net-work,  is  an  ex- 
ceedingly soft  and  delicate  membrane,  and  is  the  seat 
of  color  in  the  skin.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  find 
this  layer  in  the  Albino,  less  difficult  in  the  Anglo  Sax- 
on, and  easy  of  detection  in  the  African.  The  color  of 
this  layer  depends  upon  the  amount  of  dark  pigmen- 
tary granules  which  are  deposited  in  the  meshes  of  its 
net-work.  It  is  the  same  layer  which  gives  the  beau- 
tiful red  and  yellow  spots  noticed  upon  the  sides  of  the 
mountain  trout  and  which  bestows  such  variegated  and 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  155 

beautiful  hues  upon  the  skin  of  the  dolphin.  The 
depth  and  intensity  of  the  color  of  this  layer  of  the 
skin  always  depends,  in  a  great  degree,  upon  the  activi- 
ty of  its  functions,  which  are  governed,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, by  the  temperature  of  the  surrounding  atmos- 
phere !  The  dark  pigmentary  granules  are  secreted 
from  the  blood,  and  all  of  those  circumstances  or  condi- 
tions which  determine  additional  quantities  of  this 
fluid  to  the  skin,  will  tend  to  increase  the  depth  of  its 
hues.  If  the  inhabitants  of  temperate  regions  leave 
northern  latitudes  and  visit  the  tropics,  the  increased 
warmth  of  the  atmosphere  stimulates  all  the  functions 
of  the  skin,  increasing  perspiration,  and  also  the  amount 
of  dark  granules  which  regulate  the  hues  of  this  layer ! 
The  same  general  law  holds  true  in  reference  to  the 
hairs  and  plumage  of  the  inferior  animals,  which  are 
composed  of  the  same  material,  and  are  indeed,  appen- 
dages of  the  two  outside  layers  of  the  skin !  The  furs 
of  tropical  animals  are  darker  and  more  brilliant,  and 
the  plumage  of  the  feathered  songster  is  of  the  hue  of 
the  raven's  wing,  or  of  the  darkest  green,  or  the  deep- 
est scarlet  red! 

Beneath  the  rete  mucosum  you  will  discover  the 
cutis  vera  or  true  skin,  which  is  the  seat  of  some  of  the 
most  important  functions  of  animal  life.  Upon  its  up- 
per surface  you  will  observe  a  most  beautiful  net- work 
of  arteries  and  veins,  which  contain  the  blood  of  the 
skin  and  which  bestow  upon  it  that  red  and  rosy  color 
so  indicative  of  health.  From  the  blood  contained 
in  these  numerous  blood  vessels,  are  secreted  the  perspi- 
ration and  other  impurities,  by  means  of  numerous  fol- 
licles, the  nature  of  which  will  be  fully  explained  here- 


156  LECTURES   ON   THE 

after.  The  immense  number  of  arteries  and  veins 
which  the  true  skin  contains,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
well  known  fact  that  we  cannot  penetrate  its  surface 
on  any  part  of  the  human  body  with  the  finest  cam- 
bric needle,  without  wounding  some  one  or  more  of 
them  and  causing  the  blood  to  flow  from  the  opening. 
These  blood  vessels  are  so  exceedingly  minute  that 
they  cannot  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye,  and  yet  when 
we  take  into  consideration  their  immense  number  in 
the  whole  skin  of  the  human  body,  it  will  be  found 
that  their  aggregate  capacity  enables  them  to  contain 
more  blood  than  the  larger  blood  vessels  of  the  heart, 
and  deeper  seated  organs ! 

In  this  beautiful  net-work,  and  in  contact  with  these 
blood  vessels,  we  discover  numerous  sensitive  nerves 
which  arise  from  the  posterior  column  of  the  spinal 
marrow  and  terminate  in  numerous  loops  beneath  the 
cuticle.  These  nerves  serve  the  purpose  of  transmit- 
ting impressions  made  upon  the  skin,  to  the  brain, 
and  thus  enabling  us  to  judge,  through  the  agency 
of  the  sense  of  tact  and  touch,  of  the  qualities  of  vari- 
ous objects  which  surround  us. 

The  vast  number,  and  the  importance  of  these  sensi- 
tive nerves,  may  be  demonstrated  by  a  simple  experi- 
ment conducted  with  the  finest  cambric  needle.  Not 
the  smallest  point  can  we  discover  on  any  part  of  the 
skin  of  the  human  body,  which  is  not  fully  protected 
from  injury,  by  their  numerous  sensitive  loops.  We 
cannot  even  pierce  the  skin  with  so  delicate  an  instru- 
ment, without  wounding  some  one  or  more  of  these 
minute  nervous  filaments  and  producing  a  sense  of  pain, 
warning  us  of  our  danger !  How  wonderfully  perfect 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  157 

are  the  means  which  the  Creator  has  established  for 
the  protection  of  the  human  body  ?  Not  the  smallest 
point  of  our  bodies  can  be  assailed  without  a  friendly 
impression  being  conveyed  from  the  point  of  attack 
along  the  sensitive  nerves  to  the  brain,  with  the  speed 
of  lightning,  enabling  us  to  perceive  our  danger,  and 
by  a  simple  act  of  the  human  will  to  avoid  its  conse- 
quences. (Sensation. )  The  same  beautiful  adaptation 
of  means  to  ends,  is  also  applied  to  the  internal  surfaces 
of  the  human  body,  which  are  brought  in  contact  with 
external  agents.  If  it  were  not  for  this  beautiful 
adaptation  of  means  to  ends  in  the  sensitive  nerves  of 
the  stomach,  we  never  should  perceive  when  we  had 
eaten  enough,  and  we  might  go  on  eating  until  we 
killed  ourselves !  (Applause.)  So  you  will  observe 
that  pain  is  not  a  misfortune,  as  many  suppose,  but  it 
manifests  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the  wisdom  and  be- 
nevolence of  the  Divine  Architect,  in  rendering  us 
conscious  of  our  relations  with  various  objects  of  the 
external  universe ! 

It  is  a  common  opinion  among  the  masses  of  man- 
kind, in  this  country,  that  the  muscles  and  the  bones, 
and  particularly  the  latter,  are  extremely  susceptible 
of  impressions  productive  of  pain.  But  this  idea  only 
shows  the  foolishness  of  the  wisdom  of  man,  when 
contrasted  with  the  forethought  of  the  Divine  Archi- 
tect !  The  skin  is  exquisitely  sensitive,  while  the 
bones  and  muscles  beneath  it  are  scarcely  susceptible 
of  the  least  impression  when  cut  with  a  knife,  and  con- 
sequently, in  all  operations  performed  upon  the  human 
system,  the  greatest  pain  is  produced  by  the  division  of 
the  skin  and  trunks  of  the  sensitive  nerves !  The 


158  LECTURES   ON  THE 

Creator  could  have  had  no  object  in  rendering  the 
bones  sensitive,  since  they  were  never  designed  to  be 
brought  in  contact  with  external  objects,  and  conse- 
quently could  never  be  useful,  as  the  organs  of  sense  I 
How  often  have  I  amused  myself  at  the  folly  and  igno- 
rance of  many  of  our  old  physiological  wiseacres,  as 
they  were  relating  to  the  rising  generation,  who  stood 
by  with  eyes  and  mouths  wide  open,  and  ready  to  swal- 
low every  word  of  their  nonsense,  as  even  the  air  rushes 
in  to  fill  the  vacuum,  (a  laugh,)  some  surgical  exploit 
that  they  had  seen  performed.  They  say  the  operation 
did  not  hurt  much  until  the  surgeon  sawed  through  the 
bone,  and  when  he  got  down  to  the  marrow,  that  made 
him  jump !  (Laughter,  and  applause.)  Now  there 
is  no  more  sensibility  in  the  bones  or  the  marrow  either, 
than  there  is  in  a  piece  of  wood.  If  the  Divine  Archi- 
tect had  been  endowed  with  only  ordinary  human  fore- 
thought, we  should  not  behold  such  nice  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends,  as  unfold  themselves  at  every  step  as  we 
advance  in  the  investigation  of  his  greatest  and  noblest 
work  —  the  constitution  of  man  !  (Sensation,  and  ap- 
plause.) 

In  the  structure  of  the  skin  we  also  discover  impor- 
tant organs  which  are  subservient  to  purposes  of  secre- 
tion and  absorption.  If  you  will  examine  the  diagram, 
you  will  observe  numerous  perspiratory  glands,  con- 
sisting of  a  simple  follicle,  and  its  spiral  tube,  which 
terminates  upon  the  surface  of  the  cuticle.  Around 
the  walls  of  these  follicles,  there  is  a  beautiful  arrange- 
ment of  blood-vessels,  along  which  the  blood  is  distrib- 
uted in  order  that  it  may  be  cleansed  and  purified! 

Erasmus  Wilson,  the  distinguished  British  anatomist, 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  159 

in  his  great  work  on  the  skin,  says  that  by  means  of 
a  powerful  microscope,  he  has  been  enabled  to  count 
as  many  as  three  thousand  five  hundred  of  these  sweat- 
ing follicles  in  a  single  square  inch  of  the  skin  on  the 
palm  of  the  hand.  Now,  it  is  estimated  that  there 
are  as  many  as  two  thousand  eight  hundred  square 
inches  of  the  skin  on  an  average,  covering  the  whole 
human  body ;  and  consequently  there  must  be  nearly 
seven  millions  of  perspiratory  glands  and  pores  in  the 
skin.  The  spiral  tubes,  which  convey  their  secretions 
out  of  the  body,  are  about  one-fourth  part  of  an  inch 
long,  or  measured  collectively,  they  would  reach  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  thousand  feet,  or  twenty-eight 
miles.  This  immense  system  of  drainage,  as  we  shall 
see,  has  been  established  for  the  wisest  and  most  im- 
portant purposes  —  for  the  purification  of  the  blood, 
and  for  the  regulation  of  the  temperature  of  the  human 
body! 

The  amount  of  sweat  or  perspiration  which  is  thrown 
off  through  this  system  daily,  seems  almost  incredible — 
it  being  estimated,  by  carefully  conducted  experiments, 
to  exude  from  forty  to  sixty  ounces,  according  to  the 
habits  and  activity  of  the  person !  For  every  seven 
pounds  of  food  and  drink  taken  into  the  system,  five 
corresponding  pounds  pass  out  through  the  skin ! 

"  Through  the  small,  arterial  tubes  that  pierce, 
In  endless  millions,  the  close-woven  skin, 
The  "baser  fluids  in  a  constant  stream  escape, 
And,  viewless,  melt  into  the  winds. 
While  this  eternal,  this  most  copious  waste 
Of  flesh  and  blood  degenerated  into  rapid  brine, 
Maintains  its  wonted  measure,  all  the  wheels  of  life 
With  ease  and  pleasure  move ; 


160  LECTURES   ON  THE 

All  the  powers  of  health  befriend  you. 

But  this  restrained,  or  more  or  less, 

So,  more  or  less  you  feel  the  vital  functions  labor. 

From  this  source  what  woes  descend, 

Are  never  to  be  sung !  " 

If  we  examine  the  secretions  of  the  skin  by  the 
agency  of  chemical  analysis,  we  shall  find  that  they  are 
composed  of  various  chemical  salts,  animal  matter,  and 
other  impurities,  which  are  dissolved  in  water,  produ- 
cing the  briny  secretions  so  beautifully  described  by 
the  poet. 

The  evaporation  of  the  fluid  or  watery  portion  of  the 
sweat,  is  attended  by  the  absorption  of  the  heat  from 
the  surface  of  the  skin,  thereby  regulating,  to  a  great 
extent,  the  temperature  of  the  human  body.  Exercise 
in  the  open  air,  as  you  have  before  seen,  in  my  remarks 
upon  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  increases  the  num- 
ber of  respirations,  and  promotes  the  production  of 
animal  heat.  To  counteract  the  injurious  consequences 
of  the  excessive  production  of  this  vital  stimulus,  the 
perspiratory  glands  pour  out  large  quatities  of  perspi- 
ration upon  the  surface  of  the  skin,  the  watery  portion 
of  which  evaporates,  and  absorbs  the  excessive  heat  of 
the  human  body,  and  prevents  the  development  of  fever 
and  inflammation.  If  this  important  secretion  is  sus- 
pended, and  the  skin  becomes  harsh  and  dry,  there  is 
generally  an  increase  of  febrile  heat,  which,  in  turn,  is 
diminished  by  the  reappearance  of  healthy  perspiration. 

These  physiological  truths  are  of  the  highest  practical 
importance,  inasmuch  as  so  many  of  the  great  human 
family  frequently  labor  under  the  influence  of  disease, 
accompanied  or  produced  by  checked  perspiration  and 
increased  temperature  of  the  body.  How  many  unfor- 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  161 

tunate  invalids  languish  upon  beds  of  sickness,  and  are 
consumed  with  the  flames  of  fever,  who  might  be  spee- 
dily relieved  by  the  judicious  use  of  the  sponge  bath, 
applied  frequently  to  the  surface  of  the  skin !  Nothing, 
indeed,  so  speedily  allays  nervous  excitement  and  irri- 
tability, or  arrests  the  fatal  tendency  of  excessive  fever 
and  inflammation,  as  the  use  of  the  bath,  and  the  con- 
sequent establishment  of  artificial  perspiration  and 
evaporation  from  the  surface  of  the  skin.  Have  you 
a  cross,  peevish  and  irritable  child,  whose  cries  and 
screams,  like  the  sleepless  owl,  render  midnight  hideous 
with  its  doleful  music?  Soak  him  thoroughly  in  a  tub 
of  water,  and  take  my  word  for  it,  there  will  be  no 
more  crying  that  night.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 
Has  the  kind  and  indulgent  husband  one  of  those  lean, 
lank,  delicate  and  sickly  ribs,  who  gets  the  hysterics 
and  the  sulks  two  or  three  times  a  day1?  He  had  better 
not  scold  and  rave  like  a  madman,  but  soak  her  in  a 
good  bath !  (Great  applause.)  And  1  would  say  the 
same  to  the  enduring,  kind  and  faithful  wife — 

"  Beware  of  that  lean  Cassius  !  " 

But  if  she  heeds  not  the  admonition  of  the  bard  of 
Avon,  and  her  husband  prove  irritable,  peevish,  fault- 
finding and  unsocial,  she  may  not  tame  him  with  a 
broomstick ;  but  when  he  indulges  in  his  fits  of  pas- 
sion and  folly,  she-should  say  to  him,  "Now,  my  dear, 
you  had  better  take  a  bath,  and  then  you  will  feel  bet- 
ter "!  (Great  applause.) 

A  few  evenings  since,  a  gentleman  attended  one  of 
my  lectures,  who  had  one  of  these  nervous  and  irrita- 
ble children,  and  when  he  returned  home  after  the 

lecture,  of  course  he  found  the  child  crying ;  says  he, 
11 


162  LECTURES   ON  THE 

"  Wife,  you  must  soak  him ;  "  (laughter)  and  they 
prepared  a  warm  bath  in  a  common  tub,  and  put  him 
in.  The  husband  says  that  when  he  was  let  down  into 
the  water,  he  almost  sizzled  like  a  hot  iron,  he  was  so 
full  of  heat  and  nervous  excitement;  (applause)  and 
that  as  soon  as  he  came  out  of  the  bath  he  fell  into  a 
sweet  sleep,  and  slept  until  morning.  He  played 
around  the  room  all  the  next  day  until  near  night, 
when  he  became  cross  again,  and  they  treated  him  in 
the  same  manner,  and  with  similar  results ! 

There  are  also  situated  in  the  tissues  of  the  skin  a 
large  number  of  sebaceous  follicles  or  oil  glands  (see 
figure*)  which  secrete  an  oily  substance  from  the  blood 
and  pour  it  out  upon  the  skin,  for  the  purpose  of  lubri- 
cating its  surface  and  diminishing  the  friction  and  irri- 
tation consequent  upon  the  frequent  motion  of  the 
joints  and  contact  of  the  folds  and  surfaces  of  this 
important  membrane. 

The  structure  and  nature  of  these  follicles,  are  very 
well  illustrated  in  the  diagram.  They  are  distributed 
in  greater  numbers  in  the  skin  about  the  flexions  of 
the  joints,  along  the  cartilages  of  the  eye,  and  in  the 
meatus  of  the  ear,  where  they  secrete  a  large  quantity 
of  unctuous  matter,  which  preserves  the  softness  and 
flexibility  of  these  parts.  The  skin  around  the  flexures 
of  the  joints,  requires  oiling  like  all  other  machinery, 
when  in  motion.  The  farmer  greases  the  axle  of  his 
carriage  to  prevent  the  wheel  from  wearing  it  away, 
and  producing  that  disagreeable  noise  sometimes  en- 
countered in  the  streets  when  the  careless  driver  of 
the  carriage  has  been  negligent  in  this  respect ! 

The  oily  material  which  is  secreted  by  these  glands 

*  At  the  close  of  this  Lecture. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF   LIFE.  163 

about  the  flexures  of  the  joints,  and  more  especially  in 
the  arm-pits,  if  allowed  to  accumulate,  becomes  rancid, 
irritating,  and  extremely  offensive,  rendering  it  neces- 
sary to  use  large  quantities  of  cologne,  musk,  burga- 
mot,  pachoula,  and  oil  de  mille  fleur,  to  conceal  its 
offensive  odor !  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

Sometimes  the  oil  which  accumulates  in  the  mouths 
of  the  tubes  of  these  follicles,  is  covered  up  by  the 
small  particles  of  earthy  matter  which  float  in  the  at- 
mospheric air,  giving  the  skin  a  dark,  mottled,  or  dingy 
appearance  upon  the  surface  of  the  face  and  neck,  so 
destructive  of  the  delicacy,  elasticity,  and  beauty  of  the 
complexion !  If  you  do  not  wash  this  part  of  the  skin 
frequently  with  soap  and  water  —  soap  being  required 
to  dissolve  and  remove  the  oily  secretions  —  you  will 
find  that  these  earthy  particles  will  accumulate  in  such 
quantities  as  to  completely  seal  up  the  mouths  of  these 
tubes,  and  prevent  the  escape  of  the  oil.  Under  such 
circumstances  the  skin  loses  its  softness  and  elasticity, 
and  becomes  harsh  and  dry ;  the  oil  accumulates  and 
hardens  in  the  mouths  of  these  follicles,  causing  inflam- 
mation of  their  walls,  and  the  formation  of  numerous 
pustules  or  pimples  on  the  neck  and  face,  which  are  so 
annoying  to  the  ladies,  and  for  whose  removal  I  am 
frequently  solicited  to  prescribe  a  remedy !  (Laugh- 
ter.) 

The  practice  so  common  among  vulgar  people,  of 
covering  up  these  dark  spots  with  a  coating  of  exter- 
nal matter,  usually,  I  believe,  a  little  pearl  powder  or 
common  flour,  only  adds  fuel  to  the  fire,  and  is  sure  to 
increase  the  difficulty  that  it  was  innocently  designed 
to  obviate,  by  choking  up  the  mouths  of  these  tubes, 


164  LECTURES   ON  THE 

and  in  the  process  of  time  utterly  ruining  the  complex- 
ion. But  perhaps  those  who  use  such  preparations 
will  say,  "  no  matter,  since  it  has  answered  its  pur- 
pose, and  enabled  me  to  get  a'good  husband !"  (Laugh- 
ter.) Not  long  since  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  who 
was  a  little  short-sighted,  was  walking  with  a  young 
lady  in  this  city,  and  they  met  a  young  lady  acquaint- 
ance. After  they  had  spoken  with  her  and  passed  on, 
this  young  man  remarked  to  the  lady,  "  what  a  charm- 
ing girl  is  Miss !  "What  a  divine  complexion." 

"  Pooh,"  says  the  lady  in  reply,  "  divine  complexion, 
indeed !  its  nothing  but  flour."  (Great  applause.)  I 
have  often  laughed  when  I  have  met  ladies  in  the 
streets  with  eyebrows  and  faces  looking  as  though  they 
had  stuck  them  in  a  flour  barrel  before  they  left  home ! 
(Great  laughter.)  Only  think  of  a  young  gentleman 
kissing  such  a  lady,  and  finding  his  mouth  full  of  flour, 
and  her  complexion  growing  darker  under  the  opera- 
tion! (Continued  applause.)  Not, long  since  I  was 
engaged  in  lecturing  in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  putting  up  at  the  village  hotel,  I  noticed  when 
the  landlord's  daughters  came  down  in  the  morning, 
that  their  complexions  were  as  white  as  lilies;  but 
after  they  had  been  engaged  for  a  time  over  a  hot  fire, 
preparing  the  buckwheat  cakes,  and  sausages,  and 
doughnuts,  for  breakfast,  I  observed  that  the  oil  which 
had  been  poured  out  by  the  sebaceous  follicles  in  the 
skin  on  the  surface  of  their  faces,  had  united  with  the 
whitening  of  their  complexions,  and  rolled  down  into 
the  wrinkles  and  crevices,  producing  the  most  laugh- 
able expression  of  countenance.  I  thought  to  myself, 
as  I  saw  them  mixing  the  flour  and  butter  to  form  the 


PHILOSOPHY  OP  LIFE.  165 

doughnuts,  what  a  needless  expenditure  of  material. 
All  that  these  ladies  have  to  do,  is  just  to  gather  up 
the  dough  on  their  faces,  and  give  it  a  twist  or  two 
with  their  fingers,  and  drop  it  into  the  hot  fat,  and  the 
whole  process  is  accomplished !  (Eenewed  applause.) 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  remark,  after  what 
has  been  said,  that  the  use  of  all  pigments  is  extremely 
injurious  to  the  complexion;  and  that  although  the 
skin  may  appear  to  be  improved  in  color  by  their  use 
for  a  time,  yet  the  final  results  are  exceedingly  disas- 
trous to  beauty ! 

1st.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  the  temperature  of  the 
skin  regulates  its  functions ! 

If  we  examine  the  skin,  particularly  in  infancy,  we 
shall  find  that  it  is  exceedingly  vascular,  and  that  its 
blood  vessels  contain  a  large  amount  of  blood  which  is 
distributed  to  the  skin  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating 
its  important  functions  to  healthy  action.  If  the  skin 
is  subjected  to  the  sedative  influence  of  cold,  its  blood 
vessels  and  follicles  contract,  producing  numerous  coni- 
cal elevations  upon  its  surface,  and  diminishing  the 
amount  of  its  secretions.  Cold  applications  are,  for 
this  reason,  often  applied  by  the  most  distinguished 
surgeons  to  diminish  or  prevent  inflammation  of  the 
skin,  and  with  very  great  success !  Such  applications 
seem  to  act  beneficially,  by  diminishing  the  activity  of 
the  capillary  circulation  in  the  inflamed  part,  and 
thereby  preventing  congestion  and  irritation. 

How  different  is  this  treatment  from  that  pursued 
only  a  few  years  ago,  and  still  pursued  by  some  old 
"  medical  grannies,"  in  different  parts  of  this  country, 
of  applying  to  an  inflamed  part  hot  poultices,  and  thus 


166  LECTURES   ON  THE 

increasing  the  inflammation  instead  of  allaying  it.  Cold 
is  a  most  powerful  sedative,  diminishing  the  activity  of 
all  of  the  vital  powers,  and  may  be  used  successfully  as 
a  remedy  in  the  treatment  of  all  diseased  conditions  of 
the  various  organs  of  the  human  body,  accompanied 
with  increased  heat  and  febrile  excitement. 

The  amount  of  clothing  required  by  the  human  being, 
to  preserve  the  proper  temperature  of  the  skin,  which 
is  necessary  to  the  healthy  action  of  all  of  its  functions, 
must  be  determined  by  the  age  and  habits  of  the  person. 
The  young  child  requires  more  clothing  than  the  grown 
person,  because  its  body,  contrary  to  the  general  opin- 
ion of  mankind,  is  colder.  The  cruel  neglect  of  many 
mothers  to  study  and  obey  this  law,  in  reference  to  the 
dress  of  their  children,  occasions  sad  mortality  in  infan- 
cy. As  I  have  before  intimated,  about  one-fourth  of 
those  born,  die  before  they  complete  the  age  of  one 
year  —  and  die,  too,  of  diseases  caused  by  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  functions  of  the  skin ;  such  as  cholera  in- 
fantum,  infantile  diarrhoea,  and  inflammation  of  the 
membranes  of  the  brain,  and  dropsical  effusions. 

Now,  look,  but  for  a  single  moment,  at  the  dress  of 
a  fashionable  lady's  children,  and  see  how  inadequate 
it  is  to  protect  even  the  warmer  body  of  a  healthy 
grown  person  from  the  various  changes  and  vicissitudes 
of  our  climate.  In  reference  to  the  dress  of  her  chil- 
dren, vanity  and  fashion  rule,  as  in  almost  everything 
else.  The  child's  tiny  white  arms  must  not  be  covered 
up  with  comfortable  clothing,  but  the  short  sleeve  of  a 
very  thin  muslin  frock  must  be  gathered  up  at  the 
shoulder,  with  a  pink  or  blue  ribbon ;  and  then,  its 
beautiful,  snowy  white  bosom  must  not  be  covered,  but 


PHILOSOPHY   OP   LIFE.  167 

it  must  wear  a  very  low-necked  dress,  because  it  "  looks 
so  pretty !  "  Now,  no  sensible  person  can  fail  to  see 
that  such  a  dress  would  not  be  comfortable  and  safe 
for  a  grown  person,  and  much  less  so  for  an  infant, 
whose  vital  powers  are  feeble,  and  utterly  incompetent 
to  resist  the  shocks  produced  upon  its  sensitive  and 
feeble  constitution.  It  is  no  wonder,  indeed,  that  so 
many  thousand  children  die  annually,  (providentially, 
as  it  is  said  by  many,)  by  this  fashionable  but  criminal 
neglect  on  the  part  of  parents  !  (Sensation.)  The 
number  of  these  dispensations  of  a  cruel  and  unrelent- 
ing Providence  will  be  greatly  diminished  by  a  little 
more  clothing,  and  attention  to  the  organic  laws ! 
(Applause.) 

The  vital  heat  of  the  human  body  is  produced  through 
the  agency  of  the  respiratory  organs,  and  the  clothing 
which  is  worn  by  the  human  being  should  be  composed 
of  such  materials  and  worn  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
prevent  the  undue  escape  of  this  vital  principle ;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  its  texture  should  not  be  so  close  as 
to  afford  any  impediment  to  the  free  escape  of  the  se- 
cretions of  the  skin.  Flannel  is  admirably  adapted  to 
the  nature  and  wants  of  the  skin,  and,  as  an  article  of 
clothing,  it  is  probably  superior  to  any  thing  which 
can  be  worn  next  the  person.  It  is  a  good  non-con- 
ductor of  heat,  and  thereby  prevents  the  injurious  con- 
sequences resulting  from  the  contact  of  the  warm  sur- 
face of  the  body  with  cold  air ;  and  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  so  open  and  porous  in  its  nature,  that  it  affords  no 
impediment  to  the  free  escape  of  the  perspiratory  mat- 
ter ;  and  by  absorbing  the  secretions  of  the  skin,  it 
preserves  its  surface  in  a  healthy  state.  Owing  to  its 


168  LECTURES    ON    THE 

non-conductive  properties,  it  is  not  only  the  warmest, 
but  it  is  the  coolest  article  of  clothing  which  can  be 
worn  next  the  person.  When  the  surrounding  tem- 
perature is  lower  than  that  of  the  human  body,  it  pre- 
vents the  escape  of  its  heat ;  and  when  the  temperature 
of  the  atmosphere  is  higher,  it  prevents  its  excessive 
heat  from  coming  directly  in  contact  with  the  surface 
of  the  body,  and  drying  up  the  sources  of  perspiration, 
producing  heat  and  fevers.  If  you  wish  to  keep  your 
flowers  from  freezing,  you  cover  them  up,  in  the  fall, 
with  a  flannel  blanket ;  and  if  you  have  a  piece  of  ice 
which  you  wish  to  keep  from  melting,  in  the  month  of 
August,  you  cover  it  with  two  or  three  layers  of  flan- 
nel! 

And  so  also  with  your  own  persons;  if  you  would  be 
cool  and  comfortable  during  the  summer  as  well  as 
during  the  winter,  and  above  all  if  you  would  be  free 
from  dysentery  and  diarrhoea  and  fevers,  wear  flannel 
next  your  skin.  I  have  had  much  personal  experience 
and  extensive  observation,  for  a  number  of  years  past, 
in  some  of  the  warmest  countries  on  this  Continent,  as 
to  the  beneficial  influence  of  flannel  when  worn  next 
the  skin  during  the  summer  as  well  as  winter,  and  I 
believe  that  it  is  universally  admitted  by  the  most  ex- 
perienced surgeons  in  the  British  Army  and  Navy  as 
well  as  in  our  own  military  service,  that  even  in  the 
warmest  countries,  and  during  the  warmest  seasons  of 
the  year,  the  health  and  efficiency  of  the  army  and 
naval  forces,  is  attributable  to  a  great  extent  to  the 
flannel  which  is  now  universally  worn  next  the  skin  by 
the  sailors  and  soldiers  upon  the  East  and  West  India 
Military  stations. 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  169 

But  it  is  not  necessary,  for  the  promotion  of  health, 
as  many  persons  appear  to  have  supposed,  for  the  human 
being  to  wear  one  of  these  woollen  garments  next  the 
skin  from  one  year's  end  to  another,  without  changing 
and  ventilating  it — or  until  it  fulls  up  with  the  dirt 
and  secretions  of  the  skin,  and  becomes  as  tight  as  the 
shirt  of  Narcissus,  or  until  it  drops  off  by  its  own 
increased  weight  and  decay,  in  the  spring.  (Great 
applause.) 

The  amount  of  the  secretions  of  the  skin  renders  it 
necessary  to  frequently  change  and  ventilate  the  cloth- 
ing worn  next  its  surface.  From  forty  to  sixty  ounces 
of  perspiratory  matter  is  poured  out  upon  this  surface 
daily.  The  watery  portion  of  this  secretion  evaporates 
and  unites  with  the  surrounding  atmosphere,  while  its 
oily  and  unctuous  matter  remains  in  contact  with  the 
skin  and  clothing! 

How  soon  the  socks  worn  next  the  feet  become  com- 
pletely saturated  or  filled  with  these  secretions.  Now 
be  careful  that  you  change  them  often — or  at  least  be- 
fore you  call  on  the  young  ladies,  as  a  gentleman  once 
did  that  I  heard  of;  and  who,  during  the  evening,  as 
his  feet  were  cold,  was  induced  to  put  them  upon  the 
fender  before  the  fire  to  warm  them,  causing  an  odor 
to  arise  in  the  room  that  could  not  be  imitated  by  all 
of  the  ingenuity  of  a  Roussell  or  a  Farina !  (Laughter 
and  applause.) 

Indeed  I  know  from  extensive  observation  that  an 
exterior  of  silks  and  satins  and  broadcloths  does  not 
always  indicate  the  condition  or  quality  of  the  garments 
worn  next  the  person!  (Laughter.) 

Visit,  if  you  please,  any  of  our  fashionable  thorough- 


170  LECTURES   ON  THE 

fares,  or  promenades,  and  you  will  there  behold  these 
silks  and  satins,  dragging  in  the  dirt  and  filth  of  the 
pavements,  sweeping  the  old  cigar  stumps  and  quids 
of  tobacco  into  the  gutter,  and  absorbing  all  of  their 
nectareous  juices.  Now  fashionable  opinion  says  that 
it  would  never  do  to  cut  off  or  raise  up  a  little,  the 
skirts  of  this  dress,  for  fear  the  lady  would  show  her 
ankles ;  and  yet  you  are  alarmed  as  she  sweeps  on  past 
you,  lest  the  dress  drop  off  her  shoulders.  (Applause.) 
This,  indeed,  is  a  specimen  of  fashionable  modesty — 
"  straining  at  a  gnat  and  swallowing  a  camel !"  (Re- 
newed applause.)  Sure  I  am,  indeed,  that  the  virtue 
and  purity  of  woman  would  lose  nothing  of  its  charms 
and  perfection,  if  our  fair  friends  should  lose  at  least 
six  inches  of  the  lower  portions  of  their  robes,  which 
hang  so  gracefully  about  their  heels,  especially  in 
muddy  streets  on  a  wet  day,  after  a  long  and  fatigu- 
ing walk ! 

2d.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  if  the  secretions  of  the 
skin  are  not  removed  by  frequent  ablution,  they  will 
choke  up  its  pores! 

It  is  scarcely  possible  for  those  whose  attention  has 
not  been  directed  to  the  investigation  of  the  structure 
and  functions  of  the  skin,  to  appreciate  the  extent  and 
importance  of  this  secreting  surface.  These  secretions 
which  are  thrown  off  through  its  numerous  pores,  if 
not  removed  by  frequent  bathing,  will  accumulate  upon 
its  outside  surface,  forming  a  varnish-like  layer  of 
unctuous  matter,  which  seals  up  the  mouths  of  the 
sweating  pores  and  follicles,  checking  perspiration  and 
engendering  disease ! 

In  many  of  the  inferior  animals,  the  skin  serves  the 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  171 

same  purpose  as  the  lungs  do  in  the  human  being.  It 
is  not  only  a  secreting,  but  also  a  respiratory  or  breath- 
ing surface,  and  if  you  cover  their  skins  with  a  coating 
of  varnish,  which  is  imperious  to  the  atmospheric  air, 
they  die  in  a  very  short  time.  From  recent  experiments 
conducted  in  the  city  of  Paris  by  a  distinguished  phys- 
iologist, it  is  concluded  that  the  human  skin  respires 
and  exhales  one-sixth  as  much  as  the  lungs.  If  you 
observe  the  skin  after  you  immerse  yourselves  in  a 
bath  of  warm  water,  you  see  numerous  bubbles  of  air 
arising  from  its  surface  through  the  water — -demon- 
strating to  us  its  great  importance,  especially  to  those 
of  weak  lungs  and  delicate  scrofulous  constitutions ! 
The  secretions  of  the  skin  cannot  be  removed  from  its 
surface  except  by  the  free  use  of  soap  and  water,  inas- 
much as  water  alone  is  incapable  of  dissolving  or 
removing  any  oily  or  waxy  substance.  The  alkaline 
principle  of  the  soap  dissolves  the  dried  albumen  of 
the  cuticle  or  scarf  skin,  and  removes  the  layers  of 
dandruff,  and  with  them  all  foreign  matter  of  an  oleagi- 
nous or  unctuous  character. .  It  also  cleanses  and  removes 
the  scales  and  foreign  matter  from  the  hair  and  nails, 
and  causes  them  to  grow  and  flourish  in  the  vigor  of 
perpetual  youth.  Hence,  previous  to  the  use  of  all 
baths  which  are  taken  for  the  purpose  of  cleanlinesss 
the  skin  should  be  carefully  rubbed  with  some  mild, 
bland,  vegetable  soap,  so  as  to  dissolve  the  outside 
layers  and  scales  of  the  cuticle,  and  remove  its  secre- 
tions in  the  form  of  an  emulsion,  and  thus  cleansing 
and  purifying  the  system  in  the  most  thorough  and 
efficient  manner ! 


172  LECTURES   ON  THE 

"  With  us,  the  man  of  no  complaint  demands 
The  warm  ablution ;  just  enough  to  open  the  sluices 
Of  the  skin,  to  cleanse  the  body  from  indecent  soil ! 
Still  to  be  pure,  even  did  it  not  conduce,  as  much 
It  does,  to  health,  were  worth  your  daily  pains. 
'Tis  this  adorns  the  rich ;  the  want  of  it 
Is  poverty's  worst  woe  :  with  this  external  virtue, 
Age  maintains  a  decent  grace ;  without  it 
Youth  and  charms  are  loathsome  "  ! 

Is  it  not  indeed  humiliating,  to  observe  how  willing 
the  great  majority  of  mankind  are  to  take  all  kinds  of 
quack  nostrums  and  reputed  remedies  for  purifying  the 
blood,  while  they  entirely  neglect  this  great  natural 
provision  which  has  been  established  by  a  wise  Creator 
for  their  protection  and  restoration  ! 

When  I  examine  cases  of  scrofula  and  humeral 
affections  almost  every  day,  and  observe  the  sad  and 
neglected  conditions  of  the  skin,  and  perceive  the 
peculiar  odor  which  arises  from  its  accumulated  secre- 
tions, I  cannot  help  inquiring  how  much  cod  liver  oil 
and  sarsaparilla  it  will  take  to  purify  them  at  one  dol- 
lar a  bottle !  (Laughter  and  applause.)  Look  around 
you  and  observe  who  it  is  that  labor  under  the  influ- 
ence of  these  humeral  affections,  and  you  will  ascertain, 
that  as  a  general  rule,  it  is  those  who  almost  entirely 
neglect  the  functions  of  the  skin ! 

Not  long  since  a  friend  of  mine,  a  young  and  intel- 
ligent physician,  was  walking  down  Fourth  street  on 
a  cold  frosty  morning,  when  a  lady,  just  before  him, 
slipped  and  fell  upon  the  pavement,  injuring  her  foot 
so  that  she  could  not  walk.  The  Doctor  assisted  her 
into  a  neighboring  drug  store,  where  she  reclined  up- 
on a  mattress,  while  he  examined  it  to  ascertain  the 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  173 

nature  and  extent  of  the  injury.  He  soon  found  that 
there  were  no  bones  broken  and  that  her  foot  was  only 
very  badly  sprained ;  while  she  was  continually  cry- 
ing out,  "  oh  !  my  poor  foot,  I  am  sure  it  is  all  smashed 
to  pieces."  And  as  it  was  so  painful  that  she  could 
not  walk  upon  it,  she  desired  to  be  raised  up  so  that 
she  could  see  it.  The  moment  her  eyes  fell  upon  its 
surface  she  threw  herself  back  upon  the  mattress  in 
the  agony  of  despair,  saying;  "  Oh!  Doctor,  I  knew 
it  was  all  smashed  to  pieces,  just  see  how  black  and 
blue  it  is."  "Ah!"  says  the  Doctor,  "nevermind 
that.  It  will  all  come  off  with  a  little  soap  and  water  "  ! 
(Great  applause.)  I  have  often  thought  how  many  of 
us  would  be  caught  in  the  same  predicament,  if  we 
should  only  happen  to  fall  and  injure  ourselves  in  the 
same  way.  (Great  laughter.) 

Bathing  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  labor- 
ing classes,  on  account  of  the  increased  secretions  of 
their  skins,  produced  by  their  active  employments ! 
As  the  farmer  returns  from  his  harvest  field,  or  the 
mechanic  from  his  workshop,  at  the  close  of  a  warm 
summer's  day,  spent  in  active  toil,  he  feels  that  the 
waxy  exhalations  of  the  skin,  cause  the  under  gar- 
ments to  adhere  to  its  surface,  producing  an  uncom- 
fortable and  disagreeable  sensation.  If  he  could  only 
be  induced  to  bathe  himself  in  soap  and  water  before 
retiring  for  the  night,  he  would  be  astonished  at  the 
change  produced  in  his  strength  and  feelings.  The 
exhaustion  of  the  moment  before,  would  give  place 
to  renewed  strength  and  increased  mental  and  moral 
vigor ! 

A  few  months  since,  I  induced  a  well  known  editor 


174  LECTURES    ON   THE 

in  Western  Pennsylvania,  who  attended  my  lectures,  to 
try  the  influence  of  the  bath  upon  his  feeble  constitu- 
tution.  He  informed  me  the  next  day  that  he  had  a 
large  tub  of  warm  water  brought  to  his  room,  and 
after  rubbing  himself  thoroughly  with  soap,  he  step- 
ped into  the  tub  of  water  and  washed  it  off,  but  did 
not  notice  that  his  skin  was  dirty  by  the  color  of  the 
Water.  He  then  commenced  rubbing  himself  dry  with 
a  crash  towel,  and  after  a  while,  on  looking  down  upon 
the  carpet  which  he  stood  upon,  he  discovered  a  com- 
plete circle  of  softened  cuticle  which  he  had  rubbed 
off,  surrounding  him,  and  when  he  stepped  out  of  that 
magic  ring  he  says  he  felt  at  least  ten  pounds  lighter. 
(Applause.) 

But  the  bath  may  not  only  be  used  for  the  purpose 
of  cleanliness,  but  also  to  stimulate  the  healthy  action 
of  the  vital  organs,  and  allay  the  morbid  excitement  of 
the  nervous  system.  An  incalculable  number  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen  labor  under  the  influence  of  nervous  ir- 
ritability produced  by  the  accumulation  of  the  nervous 
energies,  which  is  indeed  the  bane  and  misery  of  count- 
less millions.  This  nervous  excitement  causing  hyste- 
ria, and  all  the  protean  forms  of  nervous  diseases,  may 
be  effectually  removed  by  the  use  of  the  bath.  But 
perhaps  some  hysterical  old  ladies,  or  some  nervous  old 
bachelors  will  say,  "  Doctor,  I  am  afraid  I  will  take 
cold  if  I  batne."  (A  laugh.)  Indeed  they  are  about 
as  fearful  of  cold  water  as  an  animal  afflicted  with  hy- 
drophobia !  and  really  there  is  some  similarity  in  their 
afflictions,  or  at  least  in  their  symptoms  !  (Applause.) 
During  the  last  winter  I  was  called  upon  in  Philadel- 
phia to  attend  a  carpenter,  laboring  under  the  influence 


PHILOSOPHY   OF    LIFE.  175 

of  a  periodical  attack  of  rheumatism,  and  after  he  had 
recovered,  he  inquired  of  me  what  he  should  do  to  pre- 
vent an  attack  of  the  disease  the  next  season,  as  he 
usually  suffered  every  spring  and  fall.  I  told  him  that 
he  must  bathe  every  day  in  a  tepid  bath.  Said  he  — 
"Oh!  Doctor! 

"  '  Take  any  shape  but  that ! ' 

"I  bathed  once  about  twenty-six  years  since,  and  I 
caught  the  most  awful  cold  that  I  ever  had  in  my  life!" 
Said  I  to  him,  "  Had  you  ever  bathed  before  that  timer' 
"No!"  said  he;  "never,  never  before  nor  since!" 
(Laughter.)  "  Well  then,"  I  replied,  "  do  you  know 
the  reason  why  you  took  such  a  severe  cold  I  "  "  No  ! " 
he  answered,  "  I  do  n't ;  what  was  it  1  "  "  Why  you 
took  off  too  much  at  a  time,  and  let  the  cold  air  in  too 
suddenly  !  (Great  laughter  and  applause.) 

Again ;  many  persons  take  cold  who  bathe  in  a  cold 
room,  and  go  through  the  operation  too  slowly.  If  you 
would  not  take  cold  you  must  bathe  in  a  warm  room, 
and  rub  the  skin  thoroughly.  The  exercise  of  rubbing 
will  warm  the  system  and  prevent  the  suppression  of 
the  secretions  of  the  skin !  A  well-contrived  bath  tub 
is  the  cheapest  and  most  economical  medicine  chest 
which  you  could  purchase,  and  its  daily  use  would  soon 
become  a  luxury  not  easily  dispensed  with  by  any  of 
the  members  of  your  family ! 

There  has  been  much  difference  of  opinion  prevailing 
in  the  community  in  reference  to  the  merits  of  va- 
rious kinds  of  baths  which  have  been  proposed  by  dif- 
ferent authors,  and  some  have  hesitated  in  procuring 
them  on  account  of  the  supposed  expense.  The  best 
bath  for  the  purpose  of  cleanliness  is  undoubtedly  that 


176  LECTURES   ON  THE 

of  immersion  in  warm  water,  but  inasmuch  as  this  is 
somewhat  inconvenient  to  those  especially  who  are 
traveling  from  place  to  place,  they  may  secure  all  of 
its  advantages  by  providing  themselves  with  an  oil  cloth 
about  four  feet  square,  and  placing  a  large  hoop  beneath 
it,  forming  a  kind  of  basin  in  which  they  can  stand 
while  bathing  and  preserve  the  carpet  dry.  After  rub- 
bing the  surface  with  soap,  then  sponge  it  off  with  a 
soft  sponge  and  water,  and  as  the  water  collects  in  the 
oil  cloth  basin  beneath,  it  may  be  poured  into  the  wash 
bucket  and  thrown  away  ! 

In  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  warm  or  tepid  bath 
is  perhaps  the  best,  especially  in  weak  and  debilitated 
cases,  inasmuch  as  it  stimulates  the  vital  powers,  and 
invites  the  blood  from  the  deep-seated  organs  to  the 
surface,  relieving  local  congestions  and  promoting  the 
equality  of  the  circulation.  After  bathing  in  warm  or 
tepid  water,  it  is  always  well  to  rinse  the  surface  of  the 
skin  with  a  towel  dipped  in  cold  water.  This  braces 
the  capillaries,  and  diminishes  the  liability  to  take  cold 
from  sudden  changes  of  temperature! 

In  a  sound  and  vigorous  constitution,  where  there  is 
sufficient  vitality ;  or  in  inflammatory  affections  accom- 
panied with  increased  heat  and  febrile  excitement,  the 
cold  bath  may  be  used  with  success. 

"  Against  the  rigors  of  the  cold,  damp  earth, 
To  fortify  their  bodies,  some  frequent  the  frozen  cistern ; 
And  where  naught  forbids,  I  praise  their  dauntless  hearts. 
A  frame  so  steeled,  dreads  not  the  cough, 
Nor  the  ungenial  blast  that  breathes  the  tertian ; 
Nor  fell  rheumatism.     A  frame  so  steeled, 
Never  quits  its  tone ;  nor  chronic  langours 
Haunt  such  hardy  breasts !  " 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  177 

Bathing  is  not  only  useful  for  the  prevention  of  skin 
diseases,  but  it  is  also  useful  for  their  relief.  In  the 
hospital  San  Louis,  at  Paris,  perhaps  the  largest  hos- 
pital in  the  world,  for  the  treatment  of  skin  diseases, 
much  reliance  is  placed  upon  the  use  of  plain  and 
medicated  baths.  They  operate  beneficially  by  cleans- 
ing the  skin  and  removing  the  outside  layers  of  the 
cuticle,  and  promoting  the  healthy  action  of  its  secre- 
tions. They  are  also  useful  in  fevers,  for  the  purpose  of 
diminishing  the  excessive  heat,  and  regulating  the 
temperature  of  the  body.  You  have  often  observed 
that  in  all  febrile  affections,  as  long  as  the  skin  is  hot 
and  dry,  the  fever  rages  higher ;  but  the  moment  per- 
spiration breaks  out,  and  the  surface  of  the  skin  be- 
comes moist,  then  the  fever  decreases  in  violence.  If 
the  large  majority  of  mankind,  when  attacked  with 
slight  febrile  affections,  would  stop  eating,  take  a  bath, 
and  rest  for  a  day  or  two,  instead  of  loading  their 
stomachs  with  vegetable  pills,  there  would  be  hard 
times  for  the  medical  profession.  (Applause.) 

The  great  advantage  of  the  use  of  the  bath  for  the 
relief  of  worn  out  and  broken  down  constitutions,  may 
'be  seen  in  its  influence  upon  thousands  of  our  citizens, 
who,  after  spending  the  winter  season  in  one  continued 
round  of  balls,  concerts,  theaters  and  fashionable  dissi- 
pation, come  out  in  the  spring  completely  exhausted 
and  broken  down  in  spirits  and  in  health.  They  then 
visit  our  fashionable  watering  places  during  the  summer 
season,  in  the  pursuit  of  health  and  renewed  energies. 
How  much  more  consistent  it  would  be  for  such  per- 
sons to  provide,  in  their  own  sumptuous  dwellings,  the 

12 


178  LECTURES   ON  THE 

means  of  bathing,  and   thus  prevent  this  enormous 
sacrifice  of  health  and  happiness  ! 

Not  long  since,  Dr.  Hartshorne,  of  Philadelphia,  was 
attending  the  children  of  one  of  these  votaries  of  fash- 
ion, whose  time  was  mainly  occupied,  not  in  attending 
to  her  children  and  superintending  her  domestic  affairs, 
but  in  making  and  receiving  morning  calls,  taking 
fashionable  walks,  examining  the  ribbons  in  the  shop 
windows,  and  ascertaining  what  color  fashion  was  going 
to  compel  her  to  wear,  &c. ;  while  her  children  at  home 
were  entirely  neglected,  or  intrusted  to  the  cold  sym- 
pathy of  the  nurse,  who  knew  little  or  nothing  of  her 
business.  One  day,  as  the  doctor  called  to  make  his 
customary  visit,  he  met  this  lady  and  mother  at  the 
door,  and  she  said  to  him,  "  Doctor,  I  don't  see  that 
our  children  are  getting  much  better.  Don't  you  think 
we  had  better  take  them  to  the  springs'?"  "Ah,  yes!" 
said  the  doctor,  "I  approve  of  that."  "You  doT'  says 
she,  "  well,  what  springs  do  you  think  we  had  better 
visit*?"  "As  to  that,  madam,"  said  he,  "it  makes  no 
difference — only  take  along  with  you  plenty  of  soap!" 
(Applause.)  The  health  and  cleanliness  of  her  children 
had  been  sadly  neglected  by  the  fashionable  mother, 
who  foolishly  thought  that  the  old  doctor  could  act  as 
nurse,  mother  and  physician,  all  combined  in  one  person! 

There  are  many  accidental  injuries  of  the  skin,  such 
as  cuts,  burns  and  scalds,  which  require  the  attention 
of  the  mother ;  and  it  is  desirable  that  she  should  treat 
accidents  in  a  skillful  and  appropriate  manner.  When- 
ever the  skin  is  cut  but  slightly,  the  lips  of  the  wound 
may  be  brought  together  by  means  of  some  strips  of 
sticking  plaster,  and  covered  with  a  little  lint,  which 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  179 

must  be  wet  every  now  and  then  with  cold  water. 
This  treatment  is  far  preferable  to  the  use  of  any  kind 
of  salve  or  ointment,  and  is  generally  made  use  of  in 
the  largest  and  best  hospitals,  at  the  present  day, 
throughout  the  world.  Burns  and  scalds  of  the  skin, 
which  raise  up  or  remove  the  cuticle,  allowing  the  air 
to  come  in  contact  with  the  nerves,  and  producing 
great  pain,  will  always  be  effectually  relieved  by  the 
use  of  any  substance  as  a  dressing,  which  excludes  the 
atmosphere,  while  nature  pours  out  the  healing  mate- 
rial which  heals  up  or  unites  the  parts.  It  is  found, 
from  large  experience  in  the  public  hospitals  of  this 
country,  that  dry  starch  is  the  very  best  dressing  to 
answer  these  indications.  Cover  over  the  burned  sur- 
face with  this  material,  and  the  pain  ceases  almost 
instantaneously.  It  operates  like  a  charm,  upon  the 
principle  of  atmospherical  exclusion,  in  all  burns,  scalds, 
chilblains,  &c.  This  dressing  should  be  put  on  thick, 
and  covered  with  a  linen  cloth  or  bandage,  which  must 
not  be  removed  until  the  part  heals  beneath.  If  the 
surface  is  dressed  every  day,  the  air  will  stimulate  the 
parts,  often  producing  deep  ulcerations,  and  very  un- 
sightly scars  and  deformity,  which  might  otherwise 
have  been  prevented. 

"But,"  say  some  of  the  good  old  ladies,  "  Doctor,  I 
know  how  to  make  a  salve  or  an  ointment,  that  is  so 
healing  that  it  will  heal  up  any  sore  or  ulcer  in  a  day 
or  two."  If  you  inquire  about  the  composition  of  these 
all-healing  ointments,  you  will  generally  find  that  they 
have  been  compounded,  by  superstitious  minds,  out  of 
rattle-snake's  grease,  or  mud  worms,  or  spider's  webs, 
or  black  cats,  or  something  in  which  the  horrible  and 


180  LECTURES   ON   THE 

marvelous  are  largely  combined.  (A  laugh.)  Now, 
let  me  inform  you  that  there  is  no  ointment  which  heals 
or  develops  a  granule  of  flesh  or  blood.  The  innate 
vital  powers  heal  and  repair  all  injuries  of  the  human 
organization,  while  ointments,  like  many  other  medi- 
cines, do  all  they  can  to  prevent  nature  from  performing 
the  cure.  (Applause.) 

While  lecturing  in  Western  Virginia  not  long  since, 
I  was  informed  by  a  professional  friend,  that  the  people 
in  that  country  had  accidentally  discovered  an  ointment, 
which  was  a  remedy  of  very  great  value ;  and  upon 
inquiry,  I  learned  that,  not  long  since,  as  he  was  riding 
past  the  house  of  a  lady,  whose  son  had  been  severely 
burned  not  long  before,  his  attention  was  arrested  by 
the  well  known  call,  "  Doctor,  doctor,  do  tell  me  what 
you  think  of  black  cat's  grease  I  Is  it  very  healing "? " 
"  Yes,"  says  the  doctor,  "  I  believe  it  is,"  and  rode  on 
as  fast  as  he  could.  The  doctor  was  no  sooner  out  of 
sight  than  the  old  lady  rallied  all  of  the  children,  with 
the  brooms  and  shovels,  and  they  soon  ran  down  the 
old  black  cat ;  and  one  of  the  boys  skinned  him,  and 
they  tied  a  string  to  his  foot  and  hung  him  up  before 
the  fire,  to  roast  the  grease  out  of  him.  As  soon  as 
the  ointment  was  prepared,  they  put  some  of  it  on 
William's  burn,  and  strange  to  say,  it  healed  up  in  a 
very  short  time ;  and  now,  this  physician  informs  me, 
that  all  through  that  region  of  country,  there  is  nothing 
so  healing  as  black  cat's  grease !  (Rounds  of  applause.) 
Many  people  believe  that  there  is  a  witch  in  every 
black  cat,  and  would  not  shoot  one ;  because  they  say 
"  the  gun  never  would  shoot  straight  again  afterwards, 
because  they  had  killed  a  witch  with  it."  (Great 


PHILOSOPHY  OP  LIFE. 


181 


laughter.)  If  I  tell  you  an  anecdote  occasionally,  it  is 
only  to  make  you  hear  me  out ;  for  the  subject  is  of  the 
greatest  interest  and  of  the  highest  importance. 


Sebaceous  Follicles  of  the  Skin.    (See  page  162.) 


LECTURE    VI 


MUSCULAR    SYSTEM 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  — 

TN  my  last  lecture,  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of  deliv- 
-L  ering  before  you,  I  endeavored  to  explain  to  you 
the  structure  and  nature  of  the  skin,  and  the  influence  of 
its  functions  upon  health ;  and  this  evening  I  propose 
to  call  your  attention  to  the  consideration  of  the  mus- 
cular system,  or  the  organs  of  voluntary  motion. 

The  locomotive  system  of  the  human  being  is  divided 
into  two  hundred  and  eight  bones,  and  about  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy  muscles,  or  strips  of  lean  meat,  which 
are  so  attached  to  the  bones,  at  both  extremities,  as  to 
be  able,  by  shortening  or  contracting  themselves,  to 
move  the  bones  upon  each  other,  at  the  joints,  and  thus 
produce  a  great  variety  of  movements,  so  essential  to 
enable  us  to  prosecute  all  of  our  various  avocations  in 
life.  The  muscles  are  arranged  on  both  sides  of  the 
bones,  so  as  to  act  alternately,  producing  flexion  or 
bending,  and  then  extension  or  straightening,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  figure  on  the  next  page,  where  one  of  the 


184  LECTUKES   ON  THE 

muscles  is  arranged  in  front  of  the  arm,  to  bend  the 
elbow  by  shortening  itself,  and  another  muscle  is 
arranged  behind  the  arm,  so  as  to  extend  or  straighten 
the  arm  at  the  elbow  joint.  The  same  mechanical 


arrangement  is  seen  for  the  flexion  and  extension  of  the 
fingers,  and,  indeed,  for  all  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
body. 

In  the  human  being,  and  in  many  of  the  higher 
animals,  the  muscles  are  of  that  red  color  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  lean  meat  or  muscle  of  the  ox ; 
and  when  they  are  thoroughly  developed  by  physical 
education  or  training,  they  confer  upon  the  human  form 
all  of  those  graceful  curves  which  are  so  characteristic 
of  strength  and  beauty. 

The  interstices  or  furrows  between  the  muscles, 
beneath  the  skin,  are  filled  up  by  the  deposit  of  adipose 
matter,  forming  numerous  soft  cushions  for  the  muscles 
to  move  upon,  and  facilitating  their  action.  If  we 
remove  one  of  these  muscles,  for  the  purpose  of  exam- 
ining it,  we  shall  find  that  it  is  composed  of  a  bundle 
of  parallel  strips  or  fibres,  which  terminate  in  the 
tendons  or  cords.  Each  one  of  these  distinct  strips, 
which  is  only  about  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter, appears  to  be  surrounded  with  a  delicate  sheath  of 
cellular  membrane.  If  we  place  one  of  these  small 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  185 

fibres,  which  compose  the  muscles,  beneath  a  microscope 
of  great  power,  we  shall  observe  that  it  is  also  composed 
of  a  great  number  of  still  smaller  strips,  only  the  one- 
forty-thousandth  part  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  which, 
on  account  of  their  diminutive  size,  are  called  the 
fibrilla. 

The  tendons  which  are  appended  to  the  ends  of  the 
muscles,  are  composed  of  the  sheaths  of  the  fibres  and 
fibrilla,  and  are  not  endowed  with  that  peculiar  proper- 
ty of  muscular  contractility.  They  serve  the  purpose 
of  increasing  the  distance  from  the  point  where  the 
power  is  applied,  to  the  point  to  be  acted  upon,  and  at 
the  same  time  fastening  the  muscles  to  the  bones. 

As  I  have  before  intimated  to  you,  the  muscles  and 
the  bones  are  simply  the  organs  of  locomotion,  and  as 
such,  are  entirely  incapable  of  movement  of  them 
selves.  In  this  respect,  they  resemble  the  steam  engine 
placed  upon  the  railroad,  which  requires  the  applica- 
tion of  the  power  of  steam  to  set  its  machinery  in 
motion ;  so  also,  the  locomotive  system  of  the  human 
body  requires  the  powers  of  the  nervous  system  to  set 
its  machinery — the  bones  and  muscles,  in  motion ! 

The  spinal  marrow,  as  I  have  before  observed,  is 
composed  of  two  parts,  the  anterior  and  posterior 
columns,  each  of  which  sends  off  two  kinds  of  nerves. 
The  anterior  column  sends  off  the  nerves  of  motion  to 
the  muscles,  while  the  posterior  column  sends  off  the 
nerves  of  sensation,  or  feeling  to  the  skin. 

The  stimulus  or  power  which  calls  each  of  these 
four  hundred  and  seventy  muscles  into  action,  is  develo- 
ped in  the  cerebro-spinal  axis,  or  the  brain  and  spinal 
marrow,  which,  indeed,  are  the  source  of  all  power,  as 


186  LECTURES   ON  THE 

well  as  all  sensation  or  feeling,  in  the  animal  economy  ! 
If  you  divide  at  the  shoulder,  the  large  nerves  which 
are  distributed  to  the  muscles  of  the  arm,  it  becomes 
paralyzed  and  cleaves  to  your  side  in  consequence  of 
the  interruption  of  the  means  of  transmitting  the  stimu 
lus  of  the  brain  to  the  muscles  for  the  purpose  of  call- 
ing them  into  action ! 

The  muscles  are  called  the  organs  of  voluntary 
motion,  because  their  action  is  limited  or  controlled  by 
the  human  will,  or  volition,  enabling  us  by  a  mental 
act  to  regulate  and  direct  their  various  motions — so 
essential  in  the  prosecution  of  the  various  pleasures 
and  pursuits  of  life ! 

The  rudiments  of  these  bones  and  muscles  exist  at 
birth ;  but  their  size  and  strength  in  after  life,  will 
depend  upon  physical  education ! 

Like  the  operations  of  the  human  mind,  their  move- 
ments, during  the  first  few  months  of  our  existence, 
are  feeble  and  irregular,  but  they  are  susceptible  of  a 
high  degree  of  development  and  cultivation,  by  means 
of  physical  education  or  training — rendering  them  ca- 
pable of  performing  feats  of  the  most  astonishing 
strength,  or  movements  of  the  most  wonderful  delicacy 
and  precision ! 

Look  at  the  artizan  and  behold  with  what  sturdy 
strokes  he  plies  his  hammer  upon  the  anvil ! — with 
what  wonderful  delicacy  and  skill  the  magic  lines  and 
rosy  tints  flow  from  the  pencil  of  the  painter — with 
what  wonderful  accuracy  the  sculptor  conveys  the  last 
faint  touches  to  the  almost  speaking  statue ! 

The  action  of  these  muscles  is  indispensable  to  all 
of  the  pleasures  and  pursuits  of  man !  Not  even  a 


PHILOSOPHY  OP  LIFE.  187 

single  motion,  or  expression,  however  insignificant,  can 
take  place,  except  through  their  agency !  "  By  their 
action  the  farmer  pursues  his  plow — the  mechanic  plies 
his  hammer  upon  the  anvil — the  statesman  wields  his 
pen,  and  the  orator  pours  forth  his  thoughts  in  words 
of  burning  eloquence ! " 

It  will  not  be  possible  for  me  to  remove  and  explain 
to  you  in  detail,  the  nature  and  the  use  of  each  of  the 
several  muscular  organs,  this  evening,  in  the  small 
space  of  time  which  has  been  allotted  to  me  by  your 
kindness ;  but  I  shall  endeavor  to  remove  a  sufficient 
number  of  them  from  the  figure  to  give  you  a  general 
idea  of  their  mechanical  arrangement,  and  then  pro- 
ceed to  the  consideration  of  the  more  important  practi- 
cal ideas  connected  with  physical  education ! 

The  first  muscle  to  which  I  call  your  attention,  is 
situated  beneath  the  scalp  and  runs  from  the  back 
part  of  the  head  or  occiput,  to  the  forehead.  It  is 
called  the  occipito  frontalis,  and  is  useful  to  raise  up 
the  skin  of  the  forehead,  and  scalp,  causing  the  expres- 
sion of  wonder !  Immediately  beneath  the  skin  over 
the  eyebrows,  you  will  observe  two  muscles,  called  the 
corrugator  super  cillii,  which  corrugate  or  wrinkle  the 
skin  between  the  eyebrows,  causing  the  expression  of 
scorn,  contempt,  anger,  revenge,  &c.  This  muscle  is 
very  largely  developed  in  the  habitual  scold  or  virago, 
so  that  she  may  be  known  even  when  she  attempts  to 
assume  a  sickly  smile,  to  captivate  the  beaux — a  smile 
which  is  soon  chased  away  by  the  frowns  of  anger,  so 
long  and  so  frequently  indulged  in,  that  their  expres- 
sion becomes  natural  and  habitual !  (Laughter  and 
applause.) 


188  LECTURES    ON   THE 

The  expression  of  anger  is  also  facilitated  by  other 
muscles  running  up  from  the  corners  of  the  mouth  to 
the  side  of  the  nose,  called  the  levator  labii  superioris 
alique  nasi.  If  any  of  our  young  gentlemen  find  a 
young  lady  with  these  muscles  large,  and  two  promi- 
nent lines  or  wrinkles  between  the  eyebrows,  he  had 
better  avoid  the  storm,  while  he  views  the  gleam  of  the 
lightning  at  a  distance,  for  such  a  countenance  marks 
the  virago !  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

On  each  side  of  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  you  will 
observe  several  muscles  which  run  towards  the  outward 
corners  of  the  eye,  and  which  the  feelings  call  into 
action  in  the  expression  of  smiles  and  laughter.  When 
these  muscles  are  called  into  daily  and  habitual  action, 
by  the  exercise  of  corresponding  feelings,  they  will  give 
tone  to  the  expression  of  the  human  countenance; 
and  hence  it  is,  that  the  character  of  the  expression  of 
the  muscles  of  the  face,  is  but  a  reflection  of  the  habit- 
ual action  of  the  human  mind  and  feelings.  The  mus- 
cles of  the  face  are  organs  for  the  expression  of  our 
mental  faculties,  moral  sentiments,  and  passions.  If 
the  mental  faculties  are  not  called  into  frequent  action, 
the  countenance  becomes  blank,  leaden,  and  expres- 
sionless, or  idiotic  —  so  different  from  the  sparkling 
expression  of  intellect,  and  the  gleams  of  intelligence. 
If  the  passions  and  propensities  are  daily  exercised, 
they  will  be  expressed  in  the  muscles  of  the  human  face, 
and  the  expression  will  give  caste  to  the  countenance ! 
And  so  also  of  the  moral  sentiments.  Their  daily  and 
habitual  exercise  bestows  upon  the  human  face  and 
features,  an  expression  which  is  almost  divine,  in  its 
tone  and  character  —  an  expression  so  different  from 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  189 

that  of  the  victim  of  all  of  the  fell  passions  —  of  anger, 
revenge,  remorse,  envy,  jealousy,  &c.  —  that  it  is  even 
instantly  recognized  by  the  untutored  savage ! 

If,  then,  our  fair  friends  would  have  beautiful  and 
expressive  countenances,  they  must  cultivate  their  minds 
and  moral  sentiments,  and  repress  their  passions,  appe- 
tites, and  propensities.  The  countenance  of  such  a 
person  glows  with  the  fires  of  a  cultivated  intellect, 
and  is  radiant  with  the  smiles  of  joy,  and  hope,  and 
love;  which  invest  it  with  charms  and  beauties  far 
beyond  that  which  can  be  communicated  by  genius, 
to  the  cold  and  impassive  marble !  (Applause.) 

If  you  observe  the  anterior  and  upper  portion  of  the 
chest,  you  will  discover  on  each  side  two  large  fan- 
shaped  muscles,  which  are  attached  to  the  arms  on 
either  side,  and  which  serve  the  purpose  of  drawing 
the  shoulders  forward  upon  the  sides  of  the  chest. 
These  muscles  are  large  in  carpenters,  and  others  whose 
occupation  requires  their  frequent  use. 

The  anterior  walls  of  the  abdomen  are,  as  you  will 
observe,  composed  of  several  planes  of  muscles,  which 
are  distributed  in  different  directions,  and  serve  the 
purpose  of  assisting  in  respiration,  and  to  protect  the 
contents  of  the  abdomen.  If  I  turn  this  figure  a  little, 
you  will  observe  several  layers  of  spinal  muscles,  which 
are  firmly  attached  to  the  bones  of  the  spinal  column, 
bestowing  upon  it,  when  they  are  well  developed  by 
physical  education,  the  most  astonishing  elasticity  and 
power.  These  muscles  are  the  seat  of  that  disease 
known  as  lumbago,  or  spinal  rheumatism,  produced 
by  exhausting  habits ;  and  for  the  cure  of  which,  vari- 
ous old  plasters,  and  liniments,  made  out  of  numerous 


190  LECTURES   ON  THE 

f 

roots  and  yarbs^  are  often  applied  in  vain,  as  long  as 
the  cause  remains  unmoved ! 

Back  of  the  shoulders,  on  each  side,  you  will  observe 
large  muscles,  which  draw  back  the  shoulder  from  the 
chest,  and  prevent  the  formation  of  a  stooping  figure, 
which  is  so  destructive  of  health  and  beauty !  If  we 
remove  the  arm  from  its  connection  with  the  body,  you 
will  observe  that  its  muscles  are  divided  into  those 
which  flex,  and  those  which  extend  the  various  parts 
of  this  useful  limb.  Those  which  are  situated  in  front 
of  the  arm  bend  it  at  the  elbow,  the  wrist,  and  the 
fingers,  at  all  of  their  numerous  joints;  and  those 
which  are  attached  to  the  bones  on  the  back  part  of 
the  arm,  extend  or  straighten  it  at  the  several  joints. 
The  movements  of  these  muscles  may  be  distinguished 
on  the  bones  of  the  arm  below  the  shoulder,  (see  fig- 
ure on  page  184,)  if  we  grasp  them  firmly  with  the 
hand,  and  then  move  the  arm  at  the  elbow. 

If  you  examine  the  muscles  upon  the  lower  extrem- 
ity, you  will  find  that  they  are  arranged  upon  the  same 
principle  as  those  of  the  arm,  and  with  the  same  view 
of  securing  alternate  flexion  and  extension.  These 
muscles  may  be  dissected  and  removed,  one  after 
another,  in  a  few  moments ;  but  a  perfect  description 
of  their  attachments,  relations,  and  uses,  would  require 
hours  to  explain,  and  would  be  of  little  practical  value, 
except  to  the  surgeon  and  anatomist. 

After  having  glanced  as  rapidly  as  possible  at  the 
nature,  mode  of  action,  and  philosophy  of  the  muscu- 
lar system,  it  remains  still  further  for  me  to  call  your 
attention  to  the  laws  of  physical  education,  and  mus- 
cular development,  in  order  that,  by  complying  with 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  191 

M 

them,  you  may  secure  health,  strength,  and  beauty,  and 
not  labor  under  the  influence  of  that  exhaustion,  debil- 
ity, and  deformity,  which  are  so  common  at  the  pres- 
ent day  —  especially  among  those  who  have  neglected 
to  comply  with  its  great  and  important  truths! 

1st.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  action,  alternating  with 
rest,  educates,  strengthens  and  develops  the  muscles. 

In  the  earlier  phases  of  human  life,  exercise  is  a 
positive  pleasure,  and  the  want  of  it  is  little  less  than 
actual  pain.  The  muscles  of  early  youth  are  so  imbued 
with  an  exuberance  of  vitality  that  a  state  of  inactivity 
is  irksome,  and  this  exuberance  is  joyfully  as  well  as 
profitably  expended  in  active  exertion !  The  Creator 
seems  to  have  implanted  in  the  breast  of  youth  the  in- 
stinctive desire  to  run,  leap,  jump  and  play,  for  the 
purpose  of  educating  and  developing  their  muscles  to 
perform  their  appropriate  duties  in  after  life ! 

At  birth  the  muscles  are  small,  and  the  young  child's 
movements  are  feeble  and  imperfect,  but  as  they  are 
more  and  more  used  in  frequent  attempts  at  locomotion 
they  become  larger  and  more  powerful !  It  is  a  sad 
mistake  to  suppose  that  the  size  and  power  of  the  mus- 
cles depend  upon  the  natural  growth  of  the  body,  inde- 
pendent of  physical  education ! 

Indeed  it  is  as  impossible  for  the  human  being  to  be 
distinguished  for  physical  strength  and  beauty  without 
the  aid  of  physical  education  and  training,  as  it  is  for 
a  Shakespear,  a  Milton,  or  a  Bacon  to  arise  without 
previous  intellectual  cultivation  and  mental  discipline ! 
Exercise  stimulates  the  heart  and  arteries,  and  causes 
the  blood  to  circulate  with  greater  rapidity  by  means 
of  the  pressure  produced  by  the  alternate  contraction 


192  LECTURES   ON  THE 

and  relaxation  of  the  muscles,  thereby  increasing  the 
powers  of  nutrition  and  rapidly  developing  and  increas- 
ing the  size  and  power  of  all  of  the  various  organs  of 
the  human  body.  If  you  examine  the  right  arm  of 
the  smith,  who  has  long  been  engaged  in  wielding  his 
hammer  upon  the  anvil,  you  will  observe  the  influence 
of  action  in  the  increased  development  and  strength  of 
its  muscles.  The  votary  of  Terpsichore,  or  the  dancing 
master,  often  displays  to  you  the  influence  of  physical 
education,  upon  the  lower  extremities,  and  so  also  of 
pedestrians  and  others  whose  trades  and  pursuits  in  life 
require  the  daily  exercise  of  certain  muscles  of  the* 
human  body,  while  on  the  contrary  those  of  sedentary 
habits  or  stupid  inactivity  afford  illustrations  of  the 
manner  in  which  nature  punishes  the  violators  of  all 
her  laws ! 

"  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work," 
says  the  commandment,  "  but  the  seventh  day  is  the 
Sabbath ;  in  it  thou  shalt  do  no  work."  If  you  will 
fasten  your  arm  across  your  chest  so  as  to  render  it 
impossible  for  you  to  use  it  for  two  or  three  months,  you 
will  discover  the  consequences  of  violating  the  Creator's 
natural  laws  and  what  he  has  commanded  you  so  clearly 
to  observe!  If  you  remove  the  fastenings  from  your 
arm  after  two  or  three  months'  continuous  disuse,  you 
will  be  surprised  to  discover  that  its  muscles  have  dried, 
withered  and  shriveled  so  as  to  render  it  incapable  of 
raising  a  tumbler  of  water  to  quench  your  parched 
thirst !  (Sensation.) 

How  often  the  command,  "  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor 
and  do  all  thy  work,"  is  broken  by  idle,  indolent  and 
lazy  Christians,  may  be  inferred  from  their  pale  and 


PHILOSOPHY    OF   LIFE.  .  193 

sallow  countenances  and  imperfectly  developed  bodies! 
They  not  only  "  rest  the  seventh  day  which  is  the  Sab- 
bath," but  they  rest  all  of  the  time,  and  still  foolishly 
think  they  serve  God  and  keep  His  commandments ! 
(Sensation  and  applause.)  Now  nothing  can  be  plainer 
than  that  all  Christians  who  do  not  engage  in  some 
honorable  and  useful  employment  "six  days"  in  seven, 
live  in  habitual  violation  of  this  Divine  injunction  ;  and 
its  consequences,  in  a  physiological  point  of  view,  have 
been  clearly  pointed  out! 

"  Toil  and  be  strong  ! 

By  toil  our  long-lived  fathers  earned  their  food  : 
Toil  knit  their  limbs  and  purified  their  blood." 

The  disastrous  influence  of  muscular  inactivity  has 
often  been  seen  in  its  effects  upon  those  who  have  been 
confined  in  the  prisons  of  Europe  for  political  offences  ! 
The  illustrious  Lafayette,  when  confined  in  an  Austrian 
dungeon,  came  near  falling  a  victim  to  the  exhaustion 
and  debility  consequent  upon  such  confinement  and 
inactivity !  The  thousands  of  miserable  victims  who 
issued  from  the  old  Bastile  after  long  confinement  in 
its  dungeons,  with  their  distorted  limbs  and  deformed 
bodies,  excited  a  thrill  of  indignation  throughout  the 
world !  It  was  indeed  no  wonder  that  the  heart  of  the 
Parisian  mob  beat  with  indignation  when  they  beheld 
what  cruelty  and  oppression  had  been  inflicted  upon 
their  brothers  for  mere  disbelief  in  the  Divine  right  of 
Kings  and  Princes  !  It  was  no  wonder  that  they  arose 
in  their  majesty  and  might,  and  hurled  with  violence 
this  system  of  barbarous  and  inhuman  torture  to  the 
ground,  and  erected  upon  its  foundation  the  sacred 
column  to  glorious  Liberty,  Equality  and  Fraternity  ! 
13 


194  LECTURES    ON   THE 

(Applause.)  Those  who  would  live  by  the  sword  of 
tyranny  and  oppression,  shall  perish  by  the  sword  of 
truth  and  justice!  (Renewed  applause.) 

The  influence  of  a  want  of  exercise  is  often  noticed 
in  reference  to  the  domestic  animals.  If  the  gentleman 
wishes  his  horse  should  be  fleet  in  the  race,  he  causes 
him  to  practice  for  a  long  time,  before  engaging  in  the 
final  contest.  Not  long  since,  an  old  friend  of  mine, 
who  lived  in  Frankford,  near  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
purchased  a  valuable  horse  from  a  gentleman  from 
Ohio,  and  not  being  able  to  use  him  at  all  times  him- 
self, he  would  not  allow  any  one  else  to  use  him  for 
him,  but  had  him  well  fed,  and  allowed  him  to  stand 
in  the  stable.  Finally,  the  old  gentleman  was  taken 
sick  and  died.  In  the  course  of  time  the  horse  was 
sold,  when  it  was  found  that  he  had  stood  so  long  idle 
in  the  stable,  that  he  was  foundered  and  good  for 
nothing ! 

Now,  there  are  thousands  of  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
at  the  present  day,  that  have  become  foundered  and 
good  for  nothing,  in  the  same  way ;  (laughter  and  ap- 
plause;) who  have  stood  idle  in  the  parlor,  until  they 
have  become  ring-boned  and  spavined,  so  that  a  decent 
trot  throws  them  all  out  of  breath !  (Rounds  of  ap- 
plause.) How  many  thousands  of  ladies  and  gentlemen 
in  this  country,  linger  out  a  miserable  existence  of 
idleness  and  physical  ignorance  and  imbecility,  who 
might,  through  the  means  of  physical  education,  become 
strong,  useful,  and  happy,  while  engaged  at  some  useful 
employment.  Thousands  of  pale,  feeble  and  emaciated 
females  scarcely  pass  the  threshold  of  the  door,  during 
the  long  winter  season ;  and  their  pale  and  withered 


PHILOSOPHY   OP   LIFE.  195 

countenances  and  lustreless  eyes  tell  us  of  the  misery 
and  the  suffering  which  they  endure. 

I  was  called  upon  the  other  day  to  prescribe  for  the 
daughter  of  one  of  these  mothers,  who  could  not  appre- 
ciate the  necessity  and  advantage  of  physical  education. 
After  making  some  remarks  upon  the  subject  of  physical 
training,  the  mother  raised  up  her  spectacles  on  her 
nose,  and  exclaimed,  "  '  Physical  education  ! '  why,  la 
me,  I  am  sure  it  does  not  do  our  William  any  good, 
for  he  has  lived  upon  nothing  on  arth,  for  the  last 
twenty  years,  but  vegetable  pills ! "  (Laughter  and 
applause.)  Now,  unfortunately  too  many  human  beings 
have  tried  this  kind  of  physical  education,  with  no 
better  success.  Giving  an  invalid  physic  to  strengthen 
him,  is  like  turning  a  rock  over  for  an  argument,  and 
using  a  crow-bar  to  convince  a  man.  (Applause.) 

Would  you  think  of  educating  the  feeble  mental 
powers  and  moral  sentiments  of  your  children  by  means 
of  pills,  and  powders,  and  panaceas,  and  plasters  ap- 
plied to  their  heads,  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening 
them'?  (Renewed  applause.)  Certainly  not;  and  yet 
you  are  continually  taking  strengthening  remedies,  and 
using  strengthening  plasters,  for  the  purpose  of  educa- 
ting, developing  and  strengthening  your  feeble  muscular 
powers,  induced  by  physical  ignorance,  idleness  and 
inactivity !  (Sensation  and  applause.) 

Physical  education  was  held  in  high  estimation  by 
the  ancient  Grecians  and  Romans,  as  a  means  of  se- 
curing superiority  of  physical  strength,  health  and 
beauty.  They  erected  their  gymnasia  and  schools  for 
physical  exercise,  which  were  thrown  open  to  both 
sexes.  They  established  their  Olympian  games — their 
chariot  races,  and  gladiatorial  contests,  which  "  knit 


196  LECTURES   ON   THE 

their  limbs  and  purified  their  blood,"  and  the  physical 
superiority  which  they  thus  acquired,  enabled  the 
Grecian  and  Roman  youth  to  plant  their  victorious 
eagles  on  distant  plains  ;  and  in  arms,  arts  and  sciences, 
to  win  a  fame  which  shall  endure  so  long  as  time  shall 
last!  (Applause.) 

But  let  the  most  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  Roman  State,  and  of  the  glories  of  Sparta, 
linger  beneath  the  shade  of  the  laurel  and  the  olive  of 
modern  Greece  and  Italy,  and  witness  the  thriftless 
idleness  and  physical  imbecility  of  the  modern  Grecian 
and  Italian,  and  he  will  require  no  Gibbon  to  inform 
him  of  the  "  cause  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  a  great  and 
glorious  empire." 

The  ancients  desired  great  physical  power,  not  to 
combat  error  with  truth,  and  to  overcome  evil  with 
good,  but  to  conquer  the  world  by  brute  force  alone ; 
and  hence  their  final  decline  and  fall  after  they  had 
attained  their  ignoble  object. 

"  Strengthen  and  fortify  your  bodies, 

Not  to  strike  or  slay,  unless  the  audible  voice  of  Heaven 

Call  thee  to  that  dire  office,  but  to  shed  on  ears 

Abused  by  falsehood,  truths  of  power,  in  words  immortal ! 

Not  the  words  which  flash  from  the  fierce  demagogue's 

Unthinking  rage,  to  madden  for  a  moment  and  expire, 

Nor  such  as  the  wrapt  orator  imbues  with  the  warmth 

Of  facile  sympathy  and  moulds  to  mirrors  radiant 

With  fair  forms  to  grace  the  noble  fervor  of  an  hour ; 

But  words  which  bear  the  spirits  of  great  deeds,  winged 

For  the  future,  which  the  dying  breath  of  freedom 

Shapes  as  it  exhales,  and  to  the  most  enduring 

Forms  of  earth  commits,  to  linger  in  the  craggy  shade 

'Neath  the  eagle's  home,  or  in  the  sea-cave,  where  the  tempest  sleeps 

Till  some  heroic  leader  bids  them  wake 

To  thrill  the  world  with  echoes  " !      (Applause.) 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  197 

But  the  modern  idea  of  health,  is  so  associated  with 
coarseness  and  vulgarity  in  fashionable  society,  that 
few  females  pay  any  attention  whatever  to  physical 
education.  Indeed  most  of  our  fashionable  young 
ladies  do  not  study  and  practice  the  means  of  acquir- 
ing good  health  and  strength,  but  rather  the  means  of 
weakness,  imbecility  and  lady-like  delicacy,  and  why  I 
Simply  because  they  know  that  gentlemen  love  to  have 
them  weak  so  that  they  can  protect  and  support  them ! 
(Great  applause.)  Only  think  of  a  refined  and  delicate 
lady  being  strong  and  healthy  enough  to  take  care  of 
herself!  (Applause) — there  is  something  so  coarse 
and  vulgar  in  the  very  idea  !  (Laughter.)  Our  nice 
and  fashionable  young  men  wish  that  the  ladies  should 
be  so  weak,  and  delicate  that  they  will  scream  at  the 
very  sight  of  a  spider,  and  go  into  a  fit  of  hysterics  at 
the  presence  of  a  mouse ;  so  that  they  may  courageous- 
ly step  in,  with  their  mustaches,  and  broad-swords, 
and  defend  them  from  such  monsters  !  (Rounds  of 
applause.) 

In  infancy  the  foolish  mother  rather  tries  to  check 
the  natural  exuberance  of  her  daughters  —  the  dispo- 
sition to  run,  jump  and  play  over  the  hills  and  through 
the  green  valleys  —  causing  them  to  resound  with  the 
merry  music  of  their  happy  voices.  If  the  daughter 
steals  away  into  the  garden,  and  is  there  discovered  by 
her  cruel  mother,  romping  and  playing  —  catching  the 
butterflies  and  culling  the  flowers,  with  sparkling  eyes 
and  red  and  rosy  cheeks,  the  mother  is  seized  with 
alarm  lest  "  she  should  grow  up  a  great  coarse,  romp- 
ing, healthy,  tomboy!"  (Sensation  and  applause.) 
And  she  immediately  raps  on  the  window  for  her  to 


198  LECTURES   ON   THE 

come  in,  and  says  to  her,  "  Why,  my  daughter,  ain't 
you  ashamed  to  be  out  there,  playing  with  the  boys  1 
Why,  how  coarse  you  look !  Come  into  the  house  and 
sit  down  by  the  side  of  your  mother,  with  your  nice 
little  sewing,  on  this  nice  little  stool,"  and  grow  up 
such  a  nice,  little,  lean,  lank,  weakly,  hystericky, 
delicate  lady  !  (Rounds  of  applause.)  The  mother 
knows  how  to  please  the  gentlemen,  and  to  get  a  good 
husband  for  her  ring-boned,  spavined,  crooked-backed 
and  foundered  daughter!  (Great  laughter  and  ap- 
plause.) 

Now  why  is  it  that  the  foolish  mother  does  not 
require  her  sons  to  be  educated  like  her  daughters'? 
They  are  entirely  unrestricted  in  the  amount  of  exer- 
cise —  they  can  play  ball  —  take  long  walks  —  climb 
a  mountain,  or  engage  in  all  of  the  pastimes  and  sports 
of  infancy.  Have  not  their  daughters  the  same  physi- 
ological organization  to  educate,  cultivate  and  develop  I 
and  why  is  it  that  this  distinction  is  made'?  Is  it 
because  a  rational  public  opinion,  founded  upon  a  great 
principle,  and  in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  com- 
mon sense,  demands  that  it  should  be  so  for  the  highest 
and  best  interests  of  society?  Certainly  not.  But 
rather  because  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  mere  sickly, 
sentimental  and  heterogeneous  and  inconsistent  dictates 
of  custom  and  fashion,  that  woman  should  be  pale, 
feeble  and  delicate,  in  order  to  please  us  gentlemen, 
and  get  a  good  husband.  (Applause.) 

This  indeed  is  the  reason  why  such  a  large  number 
of  fashionably  educated  females  labor  under  the  influ- 
ence of  spinal  complaint.  It  has  been  said  by  a  recent 
author,  that  more  than  nine-tenths  of  those  females 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  199 

who  have  been  educated  in  our  fashionable  boarding 
schools  labor  under  the  influence  of  more  or  less  cur- 
vature of  the  spinal  column — a  deformity  which  is 
almost  entirely  unknown  among  boys  and  young  men, 
who  are  allowed  to  exercise  abundantly  in  the  open  air. 
Now  let  me  ask  you,  who  is  responsible  for  all  this 
weakness,  debility  and  deformity  I  Rest  assured  that 
these  diseases  and  misfortunes  are  produced  by  causes 
which  are  within  the  control  of  human  agency  and  are 
left  in  operation  only  in  consequence  of  our  ignorance 
of  ourselves.  If  the  physical  education  of  woman 
received  the  same  attention  that  is  bestowed  upon  the 
opposite  sex,  there  would  be  few  spinal  diseases,  and 
comparatively  little  muscular  weakness  and  debility. 

Woman  is  not  weak  by  reason  of  sex,  as  many  sup- 
pose, but  rather  by  reason  of  habit,  custom  and  fashion. 
Among  many  savage  tribes  the  female  is  the  stronger 
of  the  sexes.  And  even  in  our  own  country,  you  may 
find  young  females  with  cheeks  as  red  as  roses,  on  the 
Alleghany  mountains,  in  old  Pennsylvania,  who  would 
make  our  young  knights  of  the  yard-stick  and  imperial 
fly  round  like  a  top  in  the  hands  of  a  school  boy. 
(Applause.) 

A  few  months  since,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  lecturing 
at  Hollidaysburg,  and  during  the  few  days  which  I 
spent  there,  very  agreeably,  I  was  invited  to  an  after- 
noon party ;  and  during  the  evening,  while  romping 
with  some  of  the  young  ladies,  I  undertook  to  catch 
one  of  them  in  blind  man's  buff.  It  took  me  a  long 
time,  I  can  assure  you,  to  do  so ;  and  when  I  did  catch 
her,  I  could  not  hold  on  to  her,  she  was  so  strong  ? 
(Applause.)  Why  the  muscles  of  her  arm  were  as 


200  LECTURES   ON   THE 

hard  as  a  bar  of  iron  !  (Renewed  applause.)  I  asked 
her  afterwards,  if  she  ever  had  the  hysterics,  or  the 
blues  —  felt  nervous  or  weak  —  and  she  only  laughed 
at  me  !  (Rounds  of  applause.)  I  only  hope  that  some 
of  our  nice  young  men,  who  think  that  all  females  are 
the  weaker  vessels,  may  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  some 
of  these  mountain  girls ;  if  they  do,  they  may  as  well 
yield  at  once,  for  I  can  assure  them  there  will  be  no 
need  of  any  broomstick,  to  make  them  behave  them- 
selves !  (Applause.) 

But  again :  the  style  of  dress  which  has  long  been 
adopted  by  fashionable  females,  is  well  calculated  to 
restrain  all  freedom  of  locomotion,  and  produce  great 
effeminacy,  weakness,  and  debility,  on  account  of  the 
length  of  the  skirts,  and  the  nature  of  the  waist,  preclu- 
ding the  possibility  of  free  exercise  in  the  open  air. 
The  following  extract  from  a  recent  article  in  the  West- 
minster Review,  is  so  appropriate  to  this  subject,  that 
I  shall  be  excused  for  quoting  it : 

"  The  great  object  of  clothing  should  be — first,  to 
guard  against  cold ;  secondly,  that  it  may  be  put  on 
and  removed  with  the  least  possible  trouble ;  thirdly, 
that  it  may  possess  the  most  graceful  form  consistent 
with  unrestricted  freedom  of  motion;  and  fourthly, 
that  the  material  be  of  the  best  kind  to  accomplish 
these  conditions  with  the  greatest  facility  for  cleanli- 
ness !  For  those  who  may  be  born  to  consume  the 
fruits  of  others'  industry,  if  such  there  may  be,  such 
integuments  may  be  used  as  will  express  their  helpless 
dependence  and  uselessness.  The  idle  and  indolent 
may  have  long  flowing  draperies  like  the  Turk  in  the 
harem,  or  the  pumps,  and  silk  stockings  and  breeches 


PHILOSOPHY   Otf   LIFE.  201 

of  the  last  age,  indicating  that  they  are  to  be  carried 
with  care,  like  glass,  "  this  side  uppermost,"  and  not 
to  be  exposed  to  winter  and  rough  weather  ;  that  they 
are  things  to  be  carried  like  babies  in  long  clothes,  de- 
pendent on  nurses  and  servants!"  (Applause.) 

Now  no  sensible  or  well-informed  lady  or  gentleman 
of  enlarged  experience  and  observation,  can  fail  to  dis- 
cover that  such  absurdities  in  dress,  are  opposed  to  all 
freedom  of  movement,  and  healthful  exercise,  especially 
among  females,  and  in  a  country  like  ours,  where  there 
is  great  alternation  of  seasons  !  "Were  our  fair  coun- 
trywomen mermaids.,  the  long  flowing  skirts  would  be 
mechanically  right ;  but  inasmuch  as  they  have  two 
lower  extremities  instead  of  one,  they  require  separate 
integuments,  just  as  much  as  a  glove  requires  its  sepa- 
rate fingers,  in  order  to  be  convenient  and  useful !" 

Physical  education  is  not  only  useful  for  the  purpose 
of  strengthening  and  developing  our  physical  powers, 
but  it  also  contributes,  in  no  small  degree,  to  cultivate 
and  unfold  our  mental  powers,  and  our  moral  senti- 
ments !  Exercise  stimulates  the  heart  and  arteries, 
and  quickens  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  not  only  to 
the  muscles, nourishing,  and  increasing  their  size;  but 
also  to  the  brain,  developing  and  increasing  its  size, 
and  unfolding  its  most  wonderful  powers !  It  is  thus 
that  labor  or  manly  exercise,  dignifies  and  improves 
the  nature  of  man.  It  promotes  the  health,  strength, 
and  beauty  of  his  physical  form !  It  disciplines  his 
passions,  refines  his  taste,  exalts  his  feelings,  and  con- 
tributes to  unfold  his  immortal  moral  sentiments,  and 
mental  faculties  !  Motion,  action,  progress — these  are 
the  words  which  now  fill  the  blue  vault  of  heaven  with 


202  LECTURES    ON   THE 

their  stirring  demands,  and  make  humanity's  heart  pul- 
sate with  a  stronger  bound !  (Applause.)  These  are 
the  talismanic  words  which  thrill  the  world  with  echoes, 
and  lead  on  our  noble  youth  to  fortune  and  fame ! 

Who,  indeed,  have  made  the  most  splendid  discov- 
eries of  ancient  and  modern  times  ?  Who  discovered 
and  explained  the  laws  of  gravitation  ]  Who  caught 
the  sparkling  flame  from  heaven,  and  chained  it  harm- 
less upon  the  ground]  Who  has  enabled  us,  by  his 
laborious  investigation,  to  transmit  our  thoughts  with 
the  speed  of  lightning,  and  the  powers  of  steam  ?  En- 
ergy, motion,  action ;  by  the  aid  of  their  magic  influ- 
ence, we  have  the  key  which  unlocks  the  treasures  of 
knowledge,  of  fame,  and  power,  and  affluence !  (Ap- 
plause.) 

"  The  longer  I  live,"  says  the  poet  Goethe,  "  the 
more  certain  I  am  that  the  great  difference  between 
men — the  great  and  the  insignificant — is  energy,  in- 
vincible determination,  an  honest  purpose  once  fixed, 
and  then  victory.  This  quality  will  do  anything  that 
can  be  done  in  the  world ;  and  no  talents,  no  circum- 
stances, no  opportunity,  will  make  a  two-legged  crea- 
ture a  man  without  it !"  (Applause.) 

"  Mind  is  immortal !  Mind  is  imperial !  It  bears 
no  mark  of  high  or  low — of  rich  or  poor.  It  heeds  no 
bound  of  time,  or  place,  or  rank,  or  circumstances.  It 
asks  but  freedom.  It  requires  but  action.  It  is  Heav- 
en-born, and  it  aspires  to  Heaven.  Weakness  does 
not  enfeeble  it.  Poverty  cannot  repress  it.  Difficul- 
ties do  but  stimulate  its  vigor.  And  the  poor  tallow- 
chandler  s  son,  that  sits  up  all  night  to  read  a  book 
which  an  apprentice  has  loaned  him,  lest  the  master's 


PHILOSOPHY   OF    LIFE.  203 

eye  should  miss  it  in  the  morning,  shall  stand  and 
treat  with  kings,  shall  add  new  provinces  to  the  domain 
of  science,  shall  bind  the  lightning  with  a  hempen 
cord,  and  bring  it  harmless  to  the  ground !"  Yes,  my 
friends,  on  that  kite — when  the  city  away  yonder  upon 
the  Delaware,  upon  which  it  that  day  looked  down, 
shall  be  known  only  by  its  ruins — will  be  read  by  pos- 
terity, as  it  waves  high  up  in  mid-air,  in  blazing 
colossal  letters,  the  name  of  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  ! 
(Applause.)  It  was  his  early  industry,  economy,  and 
frugality,  which  developed  his  noble  and  manly  phys- 
ical proportions,  and  in  after  life  enabled  him  to  stand 
and  treat  with  kings,  in  favor  of  noble  principles  and 
the  dearest  rights  of  a  great  and  a  free  people ! 

It  has  often  been  said  of  this  distinguished  Ameri- 
can philosopher,  that  in  early  life,  wlien  a  printer  in 
Philadelphia,  he  was  not  ashamed  to  wheel  his  paper 
along  the  principal  streets  of  that  city  on  a  wheelbar- 
row. Now  let  me  ask  you  how  many  Benjamin  Frank- 
lins we  have  among  our  editorial  friends  at  the  present 
day,  who  are  not  ashamed  to  do  likewise?  If  they 
have  a  load  of  wood  left  at  their  doors,  they  dare  not 
saw  and  split  it,  for  fear  of  what  Mrs.  Grundy  will  say ! 
(Applause.)  If  Miss  Grundy  should  happen  to  pass 
along  the  street  and  see  them  engaged  at  any  such 
menial  employment,  she  would  not  invite  them  to  her 
soiree  upon  the  next  occasion !  And  yet  if  they  can 
only  get  the  wood  down  cellar  out  of  sight,  they  may 
saw  and  split  away  as  long  as  they  please !  (Laughter 
and  applause.) 

"  Now  is  it  not  one  of  the  most  unaccountable  of 
contradictions,  that  society  should  look  backwards  upon 


204  LECTURES    ON  THE 

examples  of  industry  and  frugality,  with  feelings  so 
different  from  those  with  which  they  contemplate  the 
same  virtues  when  exhibited  before  their  eyes  1  Who 
does  not  feel  honored  by  his  relationship  to  Doctor 
Franklin,  whether  as  a  townsman  or  as  a  countryman, 
or  as  belonging  to  the  same  race  ]  Who  does  not  feel 
a  sort  of  personal  complacency  in  that  industry  and 
frugality  of  his  youth,  which  laid  the  foundation  of 
so  much  generosity  and  kindness  in  after  life  1  And 
yet  how  few  there  are  among  us  who  would  not  dis- 
parage, nay  ridicule  and  contemn  a  young  printer  who 
should  follow  Franklin's  example !  (Sensation  and 
applause.)  Is  not  this  the  strangest  of  weaknesses, 
a  s  well  as  the  most  inconsistent  of  inconsistencies  1  for 
when  we  take  to  ourselves  credit  for  commending  a 
virtue,  why  should  we  disdain  to  practice  it  1  Do  you 
then  ask  me  why  there  are  no  old  Benjamin  Franklins 
in  the  coming  generation  of  adults  ?  I  answer,  only 
because  there  are  no  young  Benjamin  Franklins  in  the 
rising  generation  of  youth ;  none  who  will  feed  his 
body  upon  a  roll  of  bread,  in  order  that  he  may  regale 
his  mind  upon  sacred  and  divine  philosophy  "  !  (Re- 
newed applause.) 

Now  is  it  not  strange,  in  view  of  the  great  truth 
that  all  excellence,  either  physical,  mental,  or  moral, 
is  derived  from  exertion ,  that  in  a  democratic  and  a  re- 
publican country  like  this,  the  laborer  is  not  respected 
as  he  ought  to  be  1  The  great  masses  of  society  have 
been  taught  to  believe  that  exertion,  in  accordance 
with  the  divine  command — that  man  should  "  be  dilli- 
gent  in  business,"  is  degrading  to  humanity,  and  this 
wicked  idea  has  been  handed  down  from  father  to  son, 


PHILOSOPHY   OF    LIFE.  205 

until  life  has  become  a  great  struggle  for  the  acquisi- 
tion of  wealth,  because  it  insures  respectability  and 
gentility. 

Look  if  you  please,  at  our  census  tables,  and  you 
will  there  find  a  description  of  the  character  and  pur- 
suits of  a  gentleman.  Under  its  various  headings,  for 
this  city  you  will  observe  the  names  of  many  who  are 
enumerated  as  mechanics,  artizans,  lawyers,  clergymen, 
physicians,  &c.,  all  of  whom  follow  some  pursuit  or 
calling — while  under  still  another  heading,  the  title  of 
gentlemen  occurs,  and  beneath  this  title  you  will  find 
the  names  of  all  the  "  dead  heads  "  or  "  gentlemen 
loafers,"  the  only  genteel  occupation  in  these  modern 
times  !  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

Formerly,  "  mind  made  the  man  and  the  want  of  it 
the  fellow  " — but  now,  "  money  makes  the  man  and 
the  want  of  it  the  poor  fellow — that  is  good  for  noth- 
ing !  (Laughter  and  applause.)  If  the  child  playing 
at  the  window,  sees  a  gentleman  passing  in  the  street 
and  inquires  of  its  mother  who  he  is,  it  is  informed  in 
reply,  that  he  is  the  richest  man  in  the  village,  and  is 
worth  just  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Now  the  child 
is  taught  by  her  foolish  mother  that  he  is  worth  more 
than  any  other  citizen  because  he  has  more  dollars, 
and  not  because  he  is  the  most  learned  and  moral  mem- 
ber of  the  community.  (Applause.) 

In  this  age,  paleness,  indolence,  and  imbecility  means 
gentility.  They  are  made  by  fashionable  public  opin- 
ion, to  go  hand  and  hand  with  each  other,  and  the 
young  man  who  can  practice  them,  is  sure  to  be  invi- 
ted to  the  saloons,  and  to  be  feasted  at  the  tables  of  the 
"  upper  ten " !  It  is  of  little  consequence  how  the 


206  LECTURES   ON   THE 

young  man  obtains  the  means  of  a  livelihood,  provided 
he  obtains  them  by  his  wits,  rather  than  by  his 
hands.  (Applause.)  He  may  cheat  his  shoemaker 
— defraud  his  tailor — and  ruin  his  market-man,  by 
never  paying  them ;  but  still  if  his  hands  do  not  bear 
the  imprint  of  the  laborer's  degrading  toil,  he  is  often 
caressed,  fed,  and  flattered,  by  the  very  elit&  of  our 
fashionable  and  highly  cultivated  aristocracy !  (Sensa- 
tion and  applause.) 

Now  is  it  at  all  strange,  under  the  influence  of 
such  a  state  of  public  opinion  in  this  country,  that  the 
young  lady  should  be  ashamed  to  work  at  any  honest 
employment  for  the  means  of  a  livelihood  1  No  matter 
how  pure  her  heart,  how  spotless  her  character,  how 
cultivated  and  refined  her  mental  powers,  the  moment 
she  grasps  in  her  lily  white  hands  the  scrubbing  brush, 
her  respectability  vanishes  as  by  the  influence  of  enchant- 
ment. She  will  no  longer  be  invited  to  the  levees,  balls, 
and  parties  of  "  Mrs.  Grundy,"  because  her  daughters 
say,  "she  works"  for  an  honest  livelihood.  (Sensation 
and  applause.) 

Not  long  since  I  was  engaged  lecturing  in  one  of  the 
strongest  democratic  counties  in  the  United  States  —  I 
allude  of  course  to  old  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania  — 
and  while  there,  was  invited  to  visit  a  lady  laboring 
under  the  influence  of  consumption,  by  her  family  phy- 
sician. As  we  entered  the  house  rather  unceremoni- 
ously, we  encountered  her  only  daughter,  with  a  broom 
in  her  hand,  engaged  sweeping  out  the  entry.  At  first 
she  attempted  to  run  and  hide  the  broom  behind  the 
door,  but  finding  there  was  no  escape,  she  then  attempt- 
ed an  apology,  and  with  a  countenance  suffused  with 


t  • 
PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  207 

the  blushes  of  shame,  she  declared  that  "  the  servant 
had  left  them  the  day  before,  and  she  was  obliged  to 
sweep  !  "  and  at  the  same  time,  judging  from  her  con- 
fusion, feeling  more  ashamed  than  she  would  if  she  had 
been  caught  stealing  sheep.  (Rounds  of  applause.) 

Now  Dr.  March  says,  in  a  recent  lecture,  that  the 
best  cure  for  hysterics,  is  to  discharge  the  servant  girl. 
In  his  opinion  there  is  nothing  like  "  flying  around  " 
to  keep  the  nerves  from  becoming  unstrung.  Some 
women  think  they  want  a  physician,  he  says,  when 
they  only  need  a  scrubbing  brush.  (Laughter  and  ap- 
plause.) 

I  was  invited  out,  a  few  afternoons  since,  while  lec- 
turing at  Wheeling,  Virginia,  by  a  widow  lady,  living 
in  the  country,  and  after  conversing  with  her  fashiona- 
ble daughters  about  Dickens'  last  novel,  the  fashions, 
and  a  few  such  trifles  as  generally  make  up  the  con- 
versation of  fashionable  young  ladies,  I  wished  to 
satisfy  myself  what  kind  of  wives  they  would  all  make, 
and  I  commenced  a  conversation  about  straining  the 
milk,  and  making  butter  and  cheese,  &c.,  when  their 
mother,  entering  the  room,  exclaimed,  "Why!  Doctor, 
I  don't  believe  our  Arabella  knows  what  a  strainer  is. 
I  don't,  really!"  Now,  gentlemen,  only  think  of  a 
fashionable  young  lady  knowing  what  a  strainer  is, 
and  straining  milk,  and  making  butter  and  cheese  ! 
Why  they  can  hardly  eat  such  vulgar  things,  let  alone 
making  them.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

Such  young  ladies  often  let  themselves  out  for  life, 
to  some  of  our  foolish  young  men  as  helpmeets — that 
is,  they  help  to  spend  money.,  and  help  their  husbands 
to  be  miserable  like  themselves.  (Applause.) 


208  LECTURES   ON   THE 

Oh !  I  can  assure  you  that  there  is  nothing  in  any 
employment  which  ministers  unto  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  the  human  race,  which  is  vulgar  or 
degrading.  "  It  is  the  spirit  which  is  carried  into 
an  employment  which  elevates  or  degrades  it.  The 
ploughman  that  turns  the  clod  may  be  a  Cincinnatus 
or  a  Washington,  or  he  may  be  a  brother  to  the  clod- 
he  turns.  It  is  every  way  creditable  for  a  young  man 
to  handle  a  yard-stick  and  measure  tape;  the  only  dis- 
credit consists  in  having  a  soul  whose  range  of  thought 
is  as  short  as  the  stick,  and  as  narrow  as  the  tape ! " 
(Sensation  and  applause.) 

"No  matter  what  may  be  the  fortune  or  the  expec- 
tations of  a  man,  or  woman,  they  have  no  right  to  a  life 
of  idleness.  In  a  world  so  full  as  this  of  incitements 
to  exertion,  and  rewards  for  achievement,  idleness  is 
the  most  absurd  of  absurdities  and  shameful  of  shames. 
In  a  world  like  ours,  the  idler  is  not  so  much  a  biped 
as  a  bivalve  —  a  sort  of  human  oyster,  that  opens  and 
shuts."  (Applause.) 

2d.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  the  muscular  powers  are 
limited,  and  continuous  action  exhausts  and  destroys 
them. 

The  injurious  consequences  resulting  from  excessive 
exer.cise  may  be  seen  in  many  of  the  avocations  and 
employments  of  life.  If  you  stand  erect  for  a  long 
time,  listening  to  an  eloquent  address,  the  muscles  of 
the  spinal  column  and  lower  extremities  become  ex- 
hausted, painful  and  weak.  If  you  engage  in  any 
mechanical  employment  requiring  the  continuous  exer- 
cise^ of  certain  muscles  for  several  hours,  those  muscles 
become  painful  and  exhausted.  The  causes  of  lumbago, 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  209 

rheumatism,  spinal  weakness  and  debility  may  generally 
be  traced  to  exhaustion  of  certain  muscles,  produced 
by  excessive  exercise.  The  blacksmith,  who  works 
bent  forward  at  a  very  low  anvil,  soon  complains  of 
spinal  weakness,  and  so,  also,  of  various  other  trades, 
for  the  cure  of  which  they  generally  wear  two  or  three 
plasters.  Now,  if  you  can  tell  me  how  many  plasters 
it  will  take  to  do  a  day's  work  for  the  blacksmith,  in 
this  improper  position  at  a  low  anvil,  I  will  be  able 
to  tell  you  how  many  it  will  take  to  cure  him  !  (Laugh- 
ter.) 

If  you  are  not  accustomed  to  the  exercise  of  walking, 
and  you  ramble  over  the  hills  and  mountains,  in  pur- 
suit of  amusement,  you  will  experience*  at  night  the 
painful  exhaustion,  cramps,  and  restlessness  consequent 
upon  such  excessive  muscular  exercise.  The  amount 
of  disease  and  debility  which  is  produced  by  the  unequal 
distribution  of  labor,  can  scarcely  be  appreciated  by 
those  whose  attention  has  not  been  particularly  directed 
to  the  consideration  of  the  subject.  Thousands  annu- 
ally die  from  excessive  toil,  while  myriads  languish  in 
inglorious  ease  and  helpless  imbecility ! 

But  many  people  will  aver  that  they  have  no  time 
for  relaxation  and  rest.  The  Coon  sage  begins  his 
aphorisms  with  this  remarkable  expression :  "  Ars  Ion- 
ga,  vita  brevis ;"  which  virtually  means,  "our  labors 
are  many,  but  our  days  are  few."  The  aphorism  is 
correct,  but  the  inference  drawn  from  it  is  often  wrong. 
It  is  not  by  dedicating  all  our  hours  to  labor  that  we 
shall  effect  most  achievements  —  whether  intellectual 
or  mechanical — consistent,  at  least,  with  health.  Par- 

14 


210  LECTURES   ON  THE 

simony  is  not  always  economy,  and  he  who  abstracts  a 
certain  portion  of  time  from  his  mental  or  corporeal 
avocations,  and  dedicates  it  to  simple  relaxation  and 
amusement  in  the  open  air,  will  reach  the  goal  of  his 
ambition  sooner,  or,  at  least,  more  safely,  than  he  who 
considers  all  time  lost  which  is  not  spent  in  the  specific 
avocation  or  pursuit  in  which  he  is  engaged.  I  am 
well  aware  that,  in  the  present  organization  of  society, 
thousands,  nay,  millions,  are  so  circumstanced,  that 
their  daily  wants  demand  the  daily  waste  of  their  health 
and  strength.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  fe- 
males, and  affords  an  additional  reason  for  our  sympa- 
thy and  kindness  to  the  more  amiable  as  well  as  the 
more  industrious  and  oppressed  half  of  the  human  race. 
Is  it  not,  indeed,  unfortunate  that  the  toils  and  the 
exertions  of  poor,  suffering  woman  are  so  ill  repaid, 
that  they  are,  in  many  instances,  compelled  to  sacrifice 
their  health  and  happiness,  to  secure  the  means  of  pro- 
curing the  merest  necessaries  of  existence,  while  hun- 
dreds revel  in  wealth  and  affluence  1 

Franklin  long  since  observed  that,  if  every  human 
being  worked  at  some  useful  employment  four  hours 
each  working  day,  their  combined  productions  would 
be  sufficient  to  procure  all  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  in 
great  abundance,  and  leave  sufficient  time  for  the  neces- 
sary intellectual  and  moral  cultivation.  But,  unfortu- 
nately, men  are  utterly  selfish  and  divided  by  individual 
and  separate  interests ;  and  they  are  educated  to  believe 
that  the  providence  of  God  has  designed  one-half  of  the 
human  race  merely  to  consume  the  fruits  of  the  indus- 
try of  the  other  half  —  that  they  were  born  to  riot  in 
luxury,  and  thus  doom  the  other  half  of  humanity  to  a 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  211 

life  of  excessive  toil  and  sorrow  !  The  physical,  men- 
tal, and  moral  deterioration  produced  by  the  sufferings 
and  privations  of  our  over-worked  manufacturing  pop- 
ulation, may  well  excite  the  attention  and  commisera- 
tion of  the  statesman  and  philanthropist. 

-3d.  Again:  it  is  a  natural  law  that  compression 
stimulates  the  absorbents  and  diminishes  the  size  and 
power  of  the  muscles. 

The  principle  of  compression  has  long  been  made 
use  of  by  distinguished  surgeons,  for  the  purpose  of 
removing  tumors,  and  morbid  growths  from  different 
parts  of  the  body.  The  influence  of  the  application 
of  the  same  principle  is  often  observed  in  the  treatment 
of  fractures  or  broken  bones.  If,  for  instance,  the 
bones  of  the  fore-arm  should  be  broken  half  way 
between  the  elbow  and  the  wrist,  and  the  surgeon 
should  adjust  them  by  the  application  of  splints  which 
press  against  the  muscles,  and  allow  this  dressing  to 
remain  upon  the  arm  for  thirty  days,  upon  its  removal 
you  would  be  astonished  to  discover  that  the  arm  had 
diminished  nearly  one-third  in  size,  and  had  become 
almost  powerless.  What  is  true  of  the  muscles  of  the 
arm,  is  also  true  of  all  the  muscles  of  the  human  body. 
If  you  apply  to  the  muscles  of  the  spinal  column  the 
close  fitting  bodice  lined  with  inelastic  brown  linen, 
and  filled  with  pieces  of  whalebone  or  hickory  wood, 
as  is  common  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  and  then 
hook  it  tightly  around  the  waist,  the  pressure  will  be 
so  great  upon  the  spinal  muscles  as  to  diminish  their 
growth,  and  size,  and  power,  producing  deformity, 
weakness  and  debility. 

Nor  is  this  all.     The  dress  which  fits  closely  to  the 


212  LECTURES   ON  THE 

chest  and  spinal  muscles  prevents  their  action,  and 
destroys  that  natural  grace  and  harmony  of  movement 
between  the  various  members  of  the  human  body  so 
characteristic  of  woman. 

*'  Nor  can  such  forms  with  force  or  beauty  shine, 
Save  when  the  head  and  hands  in  common  action  join, 
Each  air  constrained  or  forced,  each  gesture  rude, 
Whatever  strains  or  cramps  the  attitude, 
With  scorn  discard." 

If  a  fashionable  lady  drops  her  handkerchief,  it  is 
polite  for  a  gentleman  to  raise  it  and  return  it  to  her 
again.  Now  this  custom  is  not  only  polite,  but  it  is 
even  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  lady,  for  she  is 
bound  so  tightly  with  hoops  and  staves  —  or  "  hooks 
and  stays"  —  that  it  is  the  next  thing  to  an  utter 
impossibility  for  her  to  pick  it  up  herself  without  the 
rupture  of  a  blood  vessel,  or  the  explosion  of  her 
dress.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

The  only  comparatively  easy  and  safe  position  for 
such  a  person  is  the  erect  one.  If  they  stoop,  it  must 
be  without  bending  the  body,  but  by  bending  the 
lower  extremities ;  and  even  then  it  makes  their  eyes 
stick  out  like  cups  and  saucers.  (Renewed  applause.) 
Now  suppose  that  such  a  dress  were  applied  to  any 
laboring  man,  previous  to  entering  the  harvest  field,  or 
the  shop  of  the  artizan,  and  he  was  requested  to  labor 
industriously  at  his  employment,  he  would  reply  to 
such  a  request,  that  he  was  laboring  already ;  and  if 
asked  at  what  employment,  he  would  say  that  he  was 
laboring  for  breath !  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

This  is  the  reason  why,  when  any  of  our  fair  friends 
wish  to  engage  in  any  useful  employments,  they  put  on 
a  loose  robe  or  dress  " en  dishabille"  They  find  from 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  213 

experience  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  use  the 
muscles  of  the  body  when  they  are  thus  cramped  and 
compressed. 

4th.  The  stimulus  of  hope,  joy,  and  the  sympathy  of 
friends  sweeten  toil,  and  promote  the  vigorous  and 
healthy  action  of  the  muscular  system. 

The  exercise  of  our  moral  sentiments  and  mental 
faculties  determines  larger  quantities  of  blood  to  the 
brain,  and  develops  its  wonderful  power  which  is  in 
turn  expended  upon  the  muscles,  calling  them  into 
healthy  action.  Its  beneficent  eifects  may  be  witnessed 
upon  almost  all  of  the  employments  and  pursuits  of 
man.  The  hope  of  pecuniary  rewards,  of  fame,  and 
of  power,  stimulates  the  exertions  of  the  artist,  and 
nerves  the  arm  of  the  mechanic  and  agriculturist,  and 
causes  the  hum  of  busy  industry  to  be  heard  in  our 
fields  and  workshops. 

If  we  engage  in  the  pursuits  of  pleasure,  its  zest  is 
heightened  by  amusement.  The  pleasures  of  the  pur- 
suits of  the  sportsmen  are  regulated  by  their  success. 
If  we  eagerly  tempt  the  finny  tribe  along  the  banks  of 
some  neighboring  stream,  the  fatigue  consequent  upon 
this  employment  is  greatly  diminished  by  the  mental 
excitement,  or  amusement  of  success.  If,  after  angling 
for  several  hours,  we  have  no  success,  the  employment 
becomes  irksome  and  painful,  and  we  begin  to  think 
with  Dr.  Johnson,  that  we  have  got  a  worm  at  one  end 
of  the  fishing  apparatus,  and  a  fool  tied  to  the  other, 
(a  laugh)  but  if  we  draw  trout  after  trout  from  the 
crystal  element,  the  stimulus  of  success  precludes  all 
fatigue  from  the  amusement.  If  we  climb  the  moun- 
tain cliff  in  pursuit  of  the  flying  deer,  or  the  swift- 


214  LECTURES    ON   THE 

* 

footed  antelope,  the  amount  of  fatigue  resulting  from 
the  excursion  depends  very  much  upon  the  excitement 
of  success.  If  we  do  not  succeed  in  capturing  the 
game,  we  return  towards  our  mansion  at  night,  ex- 
hausted and  overcome  with  fatigue. 

If  .we  go  back  to  the  darkest  period  of  the  history 
of  the  American  revolution,  we  observe  Washington 
with  the  remnant  of  a  scattered  army,  exhausted  and 
•dispirited,  hastily  retreating  across  the  plains  of  New 
Jersey,  in  the  face  of  a  successful  and  relentless  foe, 
until  at  length  an  opportunity  was  offered  to  clip  their 
wings  at  Trenton  and  Princeton,  which  revived  the 
drooping  spirits  of  this  little  band  of  patriots,  and 
nerved  their  arms  with  that  hope  and  confidence,  which 
enabled  them  to  carry  on  to  a  successful  issue  that 
great  and  glorious  contest  for  freedom  and  the  rights 
of  man. 

All  exercise  and  labor  which  is  designed  to  contrib- 
ute to  the  health  and  happiness  of  man,  should  be 
combined  with  rational  amusement !  Joy,  hope  and 
friendly  sympathy  exalt  the  vital  powers  and  strength- 
en and  invigorate  the  system,  and  hence  it  is  the  duty 
of  teachers,  parents,  guardians,  and  masters  to  provide 
for  the  young,  rational  amusement,  inasmuch  as  the 
Creator  has  rendered  its  use  so  necessary  for  the  devel- 
opment of  their  health  and  happiness. 

"  In  whate'er  you  sweat, 

Indulge  your  taste  :  some  love  the  manly  toils, 
The  tennis  some,  and  some  the  graceful  dance ; 
Others,  more  hardy,  range  the  purple  heath 
Or  naked  stubble,  where  from  field  to  field, 
The  sounding  covies  urge  their  laboring  flight, 
Eager  amid  the  rising  cloud  to  pour 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  215 

The  gun's  unerring  thunder  ;  and  there  are 
Whom  still  the  mead  of  the  green  archer  charms. 
He  chooses  best  whose  labor  entertains 
His  vacant  fancy  most :  the  toil  you  hate 
Fatigues  you  soon,  and  scarce  improves  your  limbs." 

The  benefit  to  be  derived  from  exercise  will  be  very 
much  increased  if  the  invalid  has  an  object  which  en- 
lists his  earnest  attention  and  stimulates  his  feelings. 
Who  has  not  noticed  the  different  expression  which 
the  countenance  assumes  under  the  influence  of  exer- 
cise combined  with  amusement,  from  that  derived  from 
exercise,  alone  I  "  Laugh  and  grow  fat,"  is  an  old 
aphorism.  Be  sorrowful,  and  grow  lean  and  melan- 
choly, is  equally  true. 

Look  around  you  in  society  and  observe  who  it  is 
that  is  the  most  constantly  afflicted,  and  who  it  is  that 
dies  earliest !  In  this  beautiful  city  there  are  many 
young  ladies  who  are  called  patterns  and  examples  for 
the  imitation  of  others!  If  they  attend  school,  they 
are  never  known  to  laugh  or  smile,  or  if  they  do,  they 
immediately  blush  to  show  their  shame  for  such  levity. 
They  always  wear  countenances  so  demure,  and  expres- 
sions so  angelic  and  ethereal  as  to  appear  scarcely  fit 
to  inhabit  this  rude,  cold  earth,  and  they  consequently 
sicken  fade  and  die  ;  when  all  of  the  well-meaning,  but 
uninformed  old  men  and  women  say,  that  they  are  all 
too  good  for  this  world,  and  that  they  have  gone  to 
another  and  a  better  one!  (Laughter.)  Again,  in  this 
community  there  is  an  opposite  illustration,  where  an 
opposite  history  is  recorded.  A  young  lady  presents 
herself  to  your  view,  with  a  countenance  whose  expres- 
sion is  the  very  picture  of  health  and  happiness !  Fill- 
ed with  the  exuberance  of  joy  and  animation,  which 


216         LECTURES   ON  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF   LIFE. 

dances  in  the  sunshine  of  her  expression,  and  sparkles 
in  her  eye — she  can  scarcely  sit  still  for  a  single  mo- 
ment— she  runs,  romps  and  plays,  with  her  mouth 
stretched  from  ear  to  ear  with  convulsions  of  laughter. 
At  school  she  is  always  known  as  the  greatest  rogue, 
and  is  constantly  whispering,  or  sticking  a  pin  into 
some  of  her  companions,  or  perhaps  pinning  a  piece  of 
paper  to  the  teacher's  coat-tail — constantly  moving  and 
jumping  about,  she  has  really  no  time  to  sit  or  stand 
still  long  enough  for  pain  and  disease  and  death  to 
overtake  her.  (Applause.)  As  she  advances  in  life, 
she  still  maintains  her  happy  temperament  and  be- 
comes the  pride  and  the  ornament  of  society  and  the 
idol  of  the  family  circle. 

Cultivate,  then,  these  kindly  feelings  towards  all  of 
those  surrounding  you!  If  you  employ  servants,  be 
generous  and  kind  towards  them,  for  you  can  wrell 
afford  to  be.  Rest  assured  that  a  kind  word  or  expres- 
sion, now  and  then,  will  not  lessen  your  dignity  in  the 
estimation  of  any  but  fools,  and  it  will  contribute  inex- 
pressibly, not  only  to  the  promotion  of  their  health, 
but  of  your  welfare  and  happiness  !  (Applause.) 


LECTURE    Y I  I 


THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVES. 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  — 

LAST  evening,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  explaining  to 
you  the  nature,  mechanism,  and  philosophy  of  the 
muscular  system,  and  the  laws  which  govern  its  devel- 
opment and  maintain  its  healthy  action ;  and  this  eve- 
ning, I  propose  to  conclude  this  brief  series  of  lectures, 
with  an  examination  of  the  Brain  and  Nervous  System. 
The  brain  is,  in  many  respects,  the  most  important 
and  wonderful  organ  of  the  human  body.  It  is  the 
common  center  of  the  nervous  system,  towards  which 
all  of  our  impressions  flow.  It  is  the  seat  of  conscious- 
ness and  perception,  from  which  emanates  the  will  and 
power  which  moves  all  of  the  subordinate  organs  in  the 
animal  economy.  It  is  also,  during  life,  the  seat  of  the 
mind  —  the  immortal  reasoning  faculties  and  moral 
sentiments,  which  elevate  and  ennoble  man  to  an  equal 
with  the  angels  —  as  well  as  the  passions  and  the 
appetites  of  a  brute,  which,  when  unrestrained,  degrade 
him  to  a  level  with  the  savage,  or  the  beast  that 
roams  the  forest. 


220  LECTURES   ON   THE 

The  nervous  system  of  the  human  being  is  divided 
into  the  cerebrum  or  the  superior  or  intellectual  brain, 
the  cerebellum  or  lesser  brain,  and  the  spinal  marrow. 
The  brain  sends  off  twelve  pairs  of  nerves  within  the 
head,  called  the  cranial  nerves,  which  are  distributed 
to  the  nose,  the  eye,  the  ear,  tongue,  teeth,  face,  and 
the  organs  of  the  chest  and  abdomen ;  while  the  spinal 
marrow  gives  off  thirty-one  pairs  of  nerves,  which  are 
chiefly  distributed  to  the  muscles  and  the  skin.  (See 
figure.) 

The  cerebrum,  or  upper  brain,  is  divided  into  two 
hemispheres  of  equal  size,  which  give  off  the  same 
number  of  nerves,  and  have  similar  functions.  They 
are  about  six  inches  long,  and  three  inches  and  a  half 
or  four  inches  wide.  At  birth,  the  brain  is  very  soft 
and  vascular,  and  weighs  only  sixteen  ounces.  It 
gradually  increases  in  size  and  weight  up  to  the  age 
of  about  thirty-two,  when  it  weighs,  in  the  male,  on 
an  average,  three  pounds  and  eight  ounces ;  and  in  the 
female,  three  pounds  and  four  ounces.  So  you  will 
observe  that  the  male  brain  weighs  four  ounces  more 
than  that  of  the  'female ;  but  anatomists  say  that  the 
female  brain  is  much  finer  in  its  texture,  and  that  it 
makes  up  in  quality  all  it  wants  in  quantity.  (Laugh- 
ter and  applause.)  In  this  respect,  it  is  like  a  dime 
among  ten  pennies  —  equal  in  value,  but  not  as  large 
•  in  size.  (Renewed  applause.) 

The  outside  surface  of  the  brain  is  covered,  as  you 
will  observe,  with  numerous  convolutions,  or  ridges, 
whose  size  is  found  to  correspond  with  the  susceptibil- 
ity of  cultivation  displayed  by  the  animal.  In  the 
lower  animals,  the-  brain  is  quite  smooth,  and  these 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  221 

convolutions  are  quite  indistinct ;  while  in  the  human 
being,  they  are  small  at  birth,  and  larger  as  we  advance 
in  life,  and  exercise  the  brain  upon  its  legitimate 
objects. 

The  brain  is  composed  of  two  kinds  of  material, 
called  the  grey,  outside,  or  vesicular  matter,  and  the 
white,  central,  or  marrow-like  portion,  which  is  fibrous 
in  its  nature.  From  numerous  experiments  conducted 
upon  the  lower  animals,  it  is  believed  that  the  mani- 
festation of  instinct  is  intimately  connected  with  the 
outside  or  vesicular  part  of  the  brain,  and  with  reason, 
reflection,  and  the  moral  sentiments. 

In  the  center  of  the  brain,  we  have  located  two  great 
cavities,  called  the  great  lateral  ventricles,  in  which  we 
observe  several  important  bodies,  which  are  common 
to  the  brains  of  many  of  the  inferior  animals,  called  the 
corpora  striata^  and  the  optic  thalami,  and  which  are 
supposed  to  be  subservient  to  the  purposes  of  sensation. 

There  are  many  dry  anatomical  descriptions  and 
details  connected  with  these  portions  of  the  nervous 
system,  which  are  of  no  great  practical  utility  to  the 
masses  of  mankind,  inasmuch  as  the  true  functions  of 
many  of  the  parts  of  the  brain  have  not  yet  been  deter- 
mined by  physiologists  themselves ;  and  you  will  excuse 
me,  if  I  do  not  weary  your  attention  by  describing  them 
in  detail. 

It  was  supposed  by  many  of  the  ancient  anatomists, 
who  examined  the  brain  only  after  death,  that  it  was 
of  little  or  no  importance  in  the  animal  economy— that 
the  Creator,  when  he  formed  man,  like  the  potter  ma- 
king his  earthen  vessels,  had  a  little  clay  left  over,  and 
put  the  lump  into  his  head,  to  balance  his  system  and 


222  LECTURES   ON   THE 

keep  him  from  becoming  light-headed!  (Laughter 
and  applause.)  Other  anatomists,  a  very  little  wiser, 
supposed  that  the  human  brain  secreted  a  kind  of  cool- 
ing, nervous  fluid,  which  was  transmitted  along  the 
nerves  to  the  different  parts  of  the  body,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  keeping  us  cool  during  the  heat  of  political 
discussion,  and  "  the  excitement  of  love  affairs,"  &c. 
(Applause.)  At  a  still  later  period,  it  was  discovered 
that  injuries  of  the  head  often  impaired  the  perfection 
of  the  mental  powers  and  moral  sentiments ;  and,  hence, 
it  was  naturally  concluded  that  the  healthy  condition 
of  the  brain  was  essential  to  their  proper  manifestation. 
Further  observation  and  numerous  experiments  leave 
little  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  best  anatomists  and 
physiologists  that  the  brain  is  a  compound  organ,  and 
that  some  parts  of  it  are  concerned  in  the  manifestation 
of  perception,  other  parts,  reason,  reflection  and  the 
moral  sentiments,  &c. 

The*  cerebellum,  or  lesser  brain,  is  situated  beneath 
the  cerebrum,  and  is  about  one-eighth  of  its  size  and 
weight.  It  is  also  divided  into  two  hemispheres, 
which  are  composed  of  grey  and  white  matter,  so  ar- 
ranged internally  as  to  produce  a  beautiful  arborescent 
appearance,  called  by  anatomists  the  arbor  vitee,  or  the 
tree  of  life.  The  convolutions  of  the  cerebellum  are 
more  regular  in  their  distribution  than  those  of  the 
cerebrum.  From  numerous  experiments  upon  the  lower 
animals,  it  is  concluded  by  most  physiologists  that  the 
functions  of  the  cerebellum  are  to  generate  and  supply 
the  nervous  stimulus  which  calls  the  muscles  into 
action.  It  is  said  to  be  larger  in  muscular  and  labor- 
ing men  than  in  those  of  sedentary  and  inactive  habits. 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  223 

The  brain  gives  off,  within  the  head,  twelve  pairs  of 
cranial  nerves,  which  are  called,  first,  the  olfactory 
nerves,  which  are  distributed  to  the  nose ;  second,  the 
optic  nerves,  which  are  distributed  to  the  center  of  the 
eyes ;  third,  the  motores  oculorum,  which  are  sent  to 
the  muscles  of  the  eyes ;  fourth,  the  patheticus,  which 
are  distributed  to  the  superior  oblique  muscles  of  the 
eyes ;  fifth,  the  trifacial,  which  are  distributed  to  the 
eyes  and  to  the  upper  and  lower  jaws ;  sixth,  the  abdu- 
centes,  which  are  sent  to  the  muscles  of  the  eyes  ; 
seventh,  the  portio  dura  is  distributed  to  the  muscles 
of  the  face ;  eighth,  the  portio  mollis,  which  is  distrib- 
uted to  the  internal  ear ;  ninth,  the  glossapharangeal, 
which  is  distributed  to  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
tongue  and  throat ;  tenth,  the  pneumogastric  nerves, 
which  are  distibuted  to  the  larynx,  gullet,  windpipe, 
lungs,  heart,  spleen,  stomach,  liver,  and  large  and  small 
intestines ;  eleventh,  the  spinal  accessory,  which  is  dis- 
tributed to  the  muscles  of  the  neck ;  and,  twelfth,  the 
hypoglossal  nerves,  which  are  distributed  to  the  mus- 
cles of  the  tongue,  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  the 
muscles  of  this  organ  to  action ;  and  it  is  said  to  be 
particularly  useful  to  the  ladies,  although  I  have  not 
noticed  that  this  nerve  is  larger  in  one  sex  than  in  the 
other.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

You  will  observe  that  all  of  these  twelve  pairs  of 
cranial  nerves,  except  the  tenth  pair,  are  distributed  to 
the  parts  about  the  head  and  neck,  and  that  many  or- 
gans appear  to  receive  several  pairs,  as  for  instance,  the 
eye.  This  mechanical  arrangement  is  necessary,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  the  several  nerves,  although 
they  resemble  each  other  in  color,  yet  they  differ  from 


224  LECTURES    ON   THE 

each  other  in  their  functions ;  and  when  any  organ  is 
required  to  perform  several  functions — as  for  instance, 
the  eye,  in  sight,  motion,  feeling,  &c. — it  must  have  a 
variety  of  different  nerves  adapted  to  its  variety  of  func- 
tions. The  optic  nerve,  which  is  distributed  to  the 
retina,  or  the  Internal  membrane  of  the  eye,  is  only 
useful  to  transmit  the  impression  produced  upon  its 
minute  branches,  to  the  brain.  If  it  is  cut  with  a 
knife,  or  pricked  with  a  pin,  it  has  not  the  least  sensi- 
bility ;  and  so  also  of  the  motores  oculorum,  which  are 
distributed  to  the  muscles  of  the  eye !  The  pneumo- 
gastric,  or  tenth  pair  of  nerves,  pass  down  along  the 
sides  of  the  neck,  sending  branches  to  the  windpipe, 
heart,  lungs,  &c.,  and  then  run  down  the  meat  tube, 
terminating  in  numerous  branches — the  majority  of 
which  are  distributed  to  the  stomach.  The  union 
which  is  seen  to  exist  between  the  stomach  and  brain, 
by  means  of  these  large  nerves,  is  of  the  most  extraor- 
dinary and  perfect  character — which  explains  the  rea- 
son why  dyspepsia  causes  pain  along  the  center  of  the 
breast,  accompanied  with  shortness  of  breath,  sick 
headache,  irritability  of  the  feelings,  &c.  The  im- 
pression produced  by  a  slight  blow  upon  the  head,  is 
not  unfrequently  reflected  from  the  brain  along  these 
nerves,  with  the  speed  of  lightning,  to  the  stomach* 
producing  sickness  of  the  stomach,  and  vomiting !  And 
so  also  of  slight  mental  emotions.  The  contemplation 
of  some  painful  or  disagreeable  scene,  will  often  cause 
nausea  and  vomiting.  Melancholy  and  despair  pro- 
duced from  the  loss  of  friends,  or  misfortune,  often 
cause  dyspepsia,  and  the  various  forms  of  disease  re- 
sulting from  indigestion ! 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  225 

€ 

Again:  The  irritability  of  the  stomach,  resulting 
from  the  various  forms  of  indigestion,  is  reflected  along 
these  large  nerves  to  the  brain,  producing  nervous  de- 
bility, and  irritability  of  the  feelings.  If  we  hamper 
the  digestive  organs,  or  stimulate  their  nerves  by  over 
exercise,  in  eating  and  in  drinking,  they  become 
exquisitely  sensitive  —  rendering  digestion  extremely 
painful ! 

"  When  the  stomach  has  thus  acquired  additional 
sensibility  through  excess,  the  owner  of  the  stomach 
has  incurred  a  penalty  which  will  require  months  or 
years  for  exoneration !  Under  such  circumstances, 
the  stomach  not  only  reflects  back  on  the  organ  of  the 
mind,  a  large  share  of  its  afflictions,  but  in  consequence 
of  its  extensive  chain  of  sympathies  with  various  other 
organs — as  for  instance,  the  liver,  lungs,  kidneys,  bow- 
els, and  heart,  in  short  the  whole  of  those  organs  sup- 
plied with  these  nerves — it  weaves  a  tissue  of  disorders 
which  no  human  skill  can  unravel  —  it  constructs  a 
labyrinth  of  infirmities  through  which  no  clue  can 
guide  us — it  fills  an  Augean  stable  with  evils  which 
few  rivers,  except  those  of  Lethe,  can  cleanse  away !" 

For  the  sensations  of  body  and  mind  springing  from 
this  source,  there  is  no  vocabulary.  The  patient  is  in 
many  instances  unable  to  describe  them,  or  the  practi- 
tioner to  understand  them ;  and  thus  a  whole  class  of 
them  have  received  the  appellations  of  "  vapors,"  "  hy- 
pochondriasis,"  "  maladies  imaginaries,"  &c.,  &c.  Few 
moral  natures  are  entirely  exempt  from  the  injurious 
influence  of  such  causes.  The  peevishness  and  irrita- 
bility of  feeling  manifested  by  the  dyspeptic  and  hypo- 
chondriac, are  familiar  illustrations  of  the  influence  of 
15 


226  LECTURES   ON  THE 

our  corporeal  conditions  upon  our  mental  and  moral 
feelings !  The  disposition  of  the  child  is  often  entirely 
changed  by  physical  disease  and  suffering.  Sour  tem- 
pers are  more  frequently  sweetened  by  sweetening  the 
stomach,  than  by  the  use  of  the  rod  upon  the  skin. 
(Sensation  and  applause.) 

Again :  the  digestive  apparatus  is  the  nutritive  sys- 
tem of  the  human  body,  and  if  its  functions  are  impaired, 
the  nutrition  of  the  brain  becomes  defective,  and  it 
dries,  withers,  and  shrivels,  for  the  want  of  a  due  sup- 
ply of  healthy  nutritious  blood.  And  hence  the  dys- 
peptic becomes  not  only  nervous  from  the  irritation 
generated  in  the  stomach,  but  also  from  inanition  and 
consequent  debility  !  Nor  do  the  injurious  influences 
of  indigestion  cease  with  impaired  physical  energies. 
The  mental  faculties  and  moral  sentiments,  are  also 
involved  in  the  general  ruin !  If  you  inquire  of  the 
dyspeptic  if  his  mental  faculties  are  unimpaired,  he 
will  generally  reply  that  he  is  weak,  exhausted,  and 
nervous,  and  that  for  some  reason,  not  well  understood 
by  him,  his  memory,  his  reasoning,  and  reflective  fac- 
ulties, seem  to  fail  him,  or  be  lost  in  inextricable  con- 
fusion— often  clasping  his  forehead  with  his  hand,  as 
if -to  collect  his  scattered  ideas,  while  he  replies  to  your 
question ! 

If  you  consult  the  annals  of  many  of  our  insane 
asylums,  you  will  readily  ascertain  that  the  most  com- 
mon cause  of  mental  imbecility  and  insanity,  is  to  be 
traced  to  the  general  exhaustion  consequent  upon  long- 
continued  indigestion,  or  defective  nutrition,  origina- 
ting, it  is  true,  in  many  instances,  in  mental  and  moral 
causes.  The  physical,  mental,  and  moral  relations 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  227 

which  exist  between  the  stomach  and  the  brain,  cannot, 
indeed,  be  too  highly  estimated !  The  immortal  spirit 
called  the  soul,  cannot  manifest  itself  in  this  world 
independent  of  the  body,  and  the  perfect  system  of 
laws  which  the  Creator  has  established  for  the  promo- 
tion of  its  health.  And  the  Christian  who  violates  the 
laws  of  his  physical  organization,  will  lose  the  strength, 
clearness,  and  perfection  of  his  moral  sentiments,  in 
the  general  wreck  and  decay  consequent  upon  the  loss 
of  health !  How  often  have  we  seen  the  Christian  who 
had  up  to  that  moment,  led  a  correct  and  a  blameless 
life,  under  the  influence  of  monomania,  hypochondria, 
and  insanity,  draw  the  knife  from  the  scabbard,  and 
sheathe  it  in  his  own  breast !  Such  instances  of  death 
by  violence,  even  among  the  most  upright  and  moral, 
produced  by  long  continued  disease  of  the  digestive 
apparatus,  and  the  exhaustion  consequent  upon  it,  must 
be  within  the  knowledge,  of  all ! 

The  stomach  cannot  digest  our  food  independent  of 
the  stimulus  of  the  brain,  which  is  transmitted  to  it 
by  the  pneumogastric  nerves ;  and  when  the  brain 
becomes  exhausted  under  the  influence  of  indigestion, 
it  is  consequently  rendered  incapable  of  stimulating  this 
important  organ  to  healthy  action,  thereby  augment- 
ing and  increasing  our  afflictions  and  sufferings ! 

There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  unrestrained 
indulgence  of  our  appetites  in  eating  and  drinking,  is 
one  of  the  greatest  impediments  to  mental  and  moral 
improvement;  inasmuch  as  the  whole  of  the  energies  of 
the  nervous  system  are  required,  under  such  circum- 
stances, to  digest  our  food,  and  cannot,  therefore,  be 
expended  upon  intellectual  and  moral  pursuits !  The 


228  LECTURES   ON  THE 

brain  generates  a  limited  amount  of  stimulus,  which  the 
demands  of  health  and  happiness  require  should  be 
expended  in  the  performance  of  all  of  our  bodily  func- 
tions, and  in  the  cultivation  of  our  reasoning  faculties 
and  moral  sentiments  !  If  the  whole  of  the  nervous 
energies,  or  the  stimulus  of  the  brain,  is  expended  in 
the  digestion  of  excessive  quantities  of  food,  they  can- 
not be  expended  in  the  exercise  of  our  intellectual  facul- 
ties and  moral  feelings ! 

Now  is  it  not  humiliating  that  man,  because  he  has 
a  few  animal  wants  which  must  be  gratified  to  preserve 
his  health,  and  promote  his  mental  and  moral  welfare, 
should  become  all  animal — an  epicure,  an  inebriate— and 
make  it  the  chief  end  of  his  existence,  the  great  aim 
of  his  life,  to  glorify  his  stomach,  and  enjoy  the  brutish 
pleasures  of  his  appetite,  his  passions,  and  his  propen- 
sities'? (Sensation  and  applause.)  Within  mankind 
are  the  attributes  of  a  God,  and  the  appetites  of  a  brute, 
and  when  these  meet  in  council  to  make  up  the  roll  of 
his  destiny,  and  to  seal  his  fate  for  immortality,  shall 
the  beast  drive  out  the  divinity  I  Shall  man  wed  the 
low  animal  passions  and  ambitions  of  the  world,  and 
seek,  with  their  emptiness,  to  fill  his  immortal  desires'? 

If  we  visit  our  religious  churches  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  how  many  persons  we  shall  discover  during 
the  service  whose  whole  nervous  energies  are  engaged, 
not  in  digesting  the  sermon,  but  in  digesting  the  corned 
beef  and  cabbage,  and  cold  ham  that  they  have  eaten 
for  dinner!  (Laughter  and  applause.)  Dead  to  all 
moral  appeals  and  external  impressions,  because  all  of 
their  nervous  and  vital  energies  are  being  expended 
upon  the  functions  of  digestion  alone.  Like  the  ana- 


PHILOSOPHY   OP   LIFE.  229 

conda,  they  have  gorged  themselves  to  repletion,  and 
perched  themselves  in  an  easy  church  pew,  not  to  wor- 
ship the  eternal  God,  but  "  to  sleep  it  off."  (Sensation 
and  applause.) 

The  brain  terminates  in  the  spinal  marrow,  which  is 
a  long  fibrous  cord,  situated  in  the  spinal  canal  or  cavity 
of  the  spinal  column.  If  we  carefully  examine  the 
spinal  marrow  we  shall  observe  that  like  the  brain,  it 
is  divided  into  two  parts  or  columns  corresponding  to 
the  two  sides  or  hemispheres  of  the  brain.  These  col- 
umns are  composed  of  grey  and  white  matter,  the  latter 
being  arranged  on  the  outside  of  the  spinal  cord,  and 
situated,  as  you  will  remember,  on  the  inside  of  the 
brain. 

The  spinal  marrow  gives  off  thirty-one  pairs  of  spinal 
nerves,  which  are  composed  of  numerous  fibres  from  its 
anterior  and  posterior  columns.  Those  fibres  which 
arise  from  the  anterior  column  are  distributed  to  the 
muscles,  for  the  purpose  of  transmitting  the  power  of 
the  will  to  those  organs  and  stimulating  them  to  action, 
and  are  called  the  motor  branches ;  while  those  which 
arise  from  the  posterior  column,  are  distributed  to  the 
skin,  and  are  called  the  sensitive  nerves,  which  receive 
impressions  made  upon  the  skin,  and  transmit  them  to 
the  brain,  which  is  the  center  of  all  consciousness  and 
feeling. 

If  you  should  separate  the  posterior  column  of  the 
spinal  marrow  from  the  brain  in  the  neck,  its  sensitive 
nerves  could  not  transmit  any  impressions  received 
upon  the  skin  to  the  brain,  and  the  sense  of  feeling 
from  that  moment  would  be  entirely  destroyed.  Again, 
if  we  divide  the  anterior  column  of  the  spinal  marrow 


230  LECTURES   ON  THE 

in  the  neck,  the  muscles  become  instantly  paralyzed, 
and  refuse  to  perform  their  motions  by  the  exercise  of 
volition. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  brain,  or  rather  the 
immortal  principle  called  mind,  which  acts  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  brain,  perceives  through  the 
agency  of  numerous  sensitive  nerves,  which  are  distri- 
buted from  the  brain  to  all  of  the  external  and  internal 
surfaces  of  the  human  body,  and  the  mind  becomes 
cognizant  of  their  qualities,  and  regulates  our  move- 
ments and  conduct  accordingly. 

If  then  we  are  brought  in  contact  with  any  external 
agent  capable  of  injuring  us,  the  mind  is  informed  of 
it  through  the  agency  of  the  nerves  of  sensation;  and 
the  mind,  through  the  agency  of  volition,  calls  the  bones 
and  muscles  into  action,  which  move  the  body  away 
from  the  danger. 

You  will  thus  perceive  that  all  pain  and  feeling  are 
essentially  benevolent  in  their  agency,  and  that  if  it  were 
not  for  the  sense  of  feeling  and  pain,  ye  could  not 
know  good  from  evil,  or  when  we  were  doing  right 
or  wrong.  Pain  warns  us  of  danger,  and  tells  us  when 
we  have  done  something  which  is  wrong,  for  our  benefit, 
and  preserves  us  from  the  evil  which  results  from  vio- 
lating the  laws  upon  which  happiness  and  pleasure 
depend.  Our  reasoning  faculties  and  moral  sentiments, 
operating  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  human 
brain,  are  thus  informed  of  what  is  good  and  what  is 
evil,  by  the  amount  of  positive  happiness  or  misery 
which  they  are  capable  of  bestowing  upon  us,  even  in 
this  world.  (Sensation.)  Consequently,  all  of  our 
conduct  which  necessarily  involves  the  sacrifice  of 


PHILOSOPHY   0V   LIFE.  231 

health,  and  causes  pain  and  misery  even  in  this  world, 
is  essentially  sinful,  and  at  war  with  the  true  principles 
of  Christianity,  which  create  rather  than  require  the 
sacrifice  of  happiness.  (Applause.)  But  how  often 
we  see  long-faced,  pharisaical  Christians  laboring  under 
the  influence  of  dyspepsia,  gout  and  rheumatism,  who 
think  they  do  God  service  by  enduring  all  of  His 
chastisements  in  this  world,  in  the  hope  of  happiness 
in  the  next.  Now  I  never  could  understand  that  kind 
of  theology  which  teaches  mankind  to  suppose  that  the 
wine-bibber  and  the  glutton,  who  are  justly  tormented 
with  disease  and  pain,  will  be  rewarded  in  the  next 
world  for  enduring  these  pains  in  this.  (Renewed 
applause.) 

If  we  desire  to  give  ourselves  up  to  the  excessive 
indulgence  of  our  selfish  appetites,  passions  and  pro- 
pensities, and  eat  to  excess,  endangering  our  health 
and  happiness,  a  friendly  pain  warns  us  of  the  conse- 
quences of  our  transgression,  and  tells  us  to  stop  eat- 
ing. Indeed  I  do  not  know  what  would  become  of 
our  modern  epicures,  were  it  not  for  this  benevolent 
provision  of  nature.  It  seems  probable,  at  least,  that 
if  many  of  them  were  guided  by  the  dictates  of  appe- 
tite alone,  they  would  eat  until  they  would  kill  them- 
selves, and  "get  their  money's  worth."  (Laughter 
and  applause.) 

If  we  inhale  the  poisonous  fumes  of  tobacco,  or 
the  atmosphere  of  a  close  arid  ill-ventilated  room  or 
sleeping  apartment,  the  impression  produced  by  it  on 
the  lining  membrane  of  the  air-tube  is  transmitted  by 
the  sensitive  nerves  to  the  brain  and  mind,  which  cause 
a  sense  of  irritation  and  coughing,  rendering  it  neces- 


232  LECTURES   ON  THE 

sary  for  us  to  remove  or  change  our  position.  Were 
it  not  for  this  benevolent  provision  of  nature,  we  should 
inhale  noxious  and  poisonous  gases,  without  being 
cognizant  of  their  evil  effects !  If  we  use  our  eyes 
excessively r,  the  stimulus  of  the  light  produces  a  smart- 
ing impression  upon  their  delicate  nerves  which  is 
transmitted  to  the  brain,  causing  us  to  desist  from 
using  them.  The  same  law  holds  true  in  reference  to 
all  the  other  organs  of  the  human  body ! 

The  natural  action  of  all  our  different  organs  is 
attended  with  an  impression  upon  the  nervous  system, 
productive  of  a  positive  sense  of  pleasure,  which  may 
be  defined  in  the  word  health,  which  is  the  result  of 
the  implicit  obedience  of  the  natural  laws ;  while  on 
the  contrary,  pain  and  suffering  are  entirely  benevolent 
in  their  character,  and  are  intended  to  warn  us  of  our 
danger  and  to  preserve  us  from  destruction.  The  same 
nerves  which  transmit  impressions  to  the  human  brain 
productive  of  all  the  enjoyments  of  sense,  can  also 
vibrate  with  a  thrill  of  pain  and  anguish  whenever  the 
laws  of  their  natural  and  healthy  action  are  violated! 

After  thus  rapidly  glancing  at  the  structure  and 
nature  of  the  nervous  system  of  the  human  being,  we 
can  comprehend  the  immense  importance  of  the  healthy 
action  of  its  functions  upon  our  moral,  physical,  and  in- 
tellectual condition.  If  the  brain  and  nerves  are  dis- 
eased and  impaired,  the  various  subordinate  organs  are 
thereby  deprived  of  their  customary  stimulus,  and  be- 
come weak  and  exhausted.  Digestion  is  impaired- — the 
circulation  becomes  feeble  and  irregular — respiration 
laborious  and  difficult — the  muscular  energies  weaken- 
ed and  exhausted,  and  the  whole  constitution  impaired 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  233 

and  shattered!  The  amount  of  disease  and  human 
suffering  which  are  produced  through  the  deranged 
action  of  these  organs,  would  indeed  exceed  the  bounds 
of  human  credulity,  were  they  gathered  before  us  in 
their  naked  deformity! 

1st.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  the  demands  of  health 
require  that  the  stimulus  of  the  brain  should  be  expen- 
ded upon  our  various  physical  organs,  mental  faculties 
and  moral  sentiments.  The  brain  generates  the  stimu- 
lus which  calls  into  action  all  the  organs  of  motion  ; 
and  if  it  is  not  expended  upon  these  organs  they  decline 
and  decay,  while  the  nervous  stimulus  which  should 
be  expended  upon  this  system,  accumulates,  producing 
nervous  irritability  and  excitement,  which  is  the  bane 
and  misery  of  countless  millions!  At  birth,  the  brain 
weights  but  about  sixteen  ounces,  and  is  only  capable 
of  manifesting  a  few  feeble  animal  powers  and  feelings, 
among  which  muscular  motion  is  quite  conspicuous, 
and  manifests  itself  long  before  the  feeblest  powers  of 
intellect.  The  health  of  the  young  child  demands  that 
its  limbs  and  body  should  not  be  so  tightly  confined 
during  the  first  few  weeks  of  its  feeble  existence  that 
it  cannot  expend  its  nervous  energies  upon  its  muscles, 
calling  them  into  frequent  motion. 

The  natural  exuberance  of  feeling  common  to  youth, 
seems  to  have  been  wisely  implanted  in  the  breasts  of 
the  young  by  a  benevolent  Creator,  to  cause  them  to 
exercise  this  system  and  expend  their  nervous  irritabil- 
ity upon  their  muscles,  thereby  developing  their  brain 
and  nerves,  and  promoting  their  health  and  strength. 
In  after  life,  this  necessity  of  our  nature  becomes  still 
more  conspicuously  displayed.  If  we  are  riding  in  a 


234  LECTURES    ON   THE 

stage  coach,  with  our  arms  folded  upon  our  chests,  and 
our  feet  beneath  the  seat  for  several  hours  without 
using  them,  they  become  painful,  causing  us  to  feel 
fidgety  and  irritable;  and  we  would  gladly  exchange  our 
sedentary  position  for  one  that  would  be  more  active — 
walking.  Exercise,  under  such  circumstances,  is  at- 
tended with  a  feeling  of  positive  pleasure.  It  con- 
sumes the  excess  of  nervous  irritability  generated  by 
the  brain,  and  relieves  our  feelings  from  much  of  that 
heat  and  excitement  peculiar  to  those  of  sedentary  and 
inactive  habits.  Well  regulated,  physical  exercise, 
daily,  in  the  open  air,  is  indispensable  to  the  preservation 
of  the  health  of  the  nervous  system.  The  cerebro- 
spinal  axis,  or  the  brain  and  spinal  marrow,  is  in  this 
respect  like  a  steam  engine,  constantly  engaged  in  gene- 
rating steam.  If  we  do  not  open  the  safety  valve,  or 
set  the  machinery  in  motion,  so  as  to  consume  its  steam, 
it  will  explode ;  and  so  also,  of  the  human  brain ;  if  we 
do  not  set  the  bones  and  muscles  in  motion,  and  "  fly 
around,"  the  nerves  will  become  unstrung  and  the  heat 
and  excitement  of  our  feelings  will  explode  in  anger. 
Physical  exercise  also  exhausts  the  irritability  of  the 
nervous  system,  and  disciplines  the  passions ,  diminishing 
licentiousness,  intemperance  and  all  manner  of  evil! 
The  abodes  of  idleness,  are  also  the  dens  of  intemper- 
ance, of  licentiousness  and  of  crime ;  for  if  our  ner- 
vous energies  are  not  expended  upon  their  own  legiti- 
mate objects,  they  must  and  will  be  expended  in 
another  calling ! 

Visit  your  streets  on  a  pleasant  Sabbath  afternoon, 
and  you  will  behold  congregated  in  your  fashionable 
drinking  establishments,  and  in  front  of  the  engine- 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  235 

houses,  numerous  young  men  thrown  temporarily  out 
of  employment.  They  will  not  attend  divine  service, 
because  the  community  in  which  they  have  been  reared, 
have  not  given  them  an  appetite  for  such  food,  by  sup- 
porting a  generous  system  of  education  for  the  rising 
generation.  A  child  without  a  physical  constitution 
to  supply,  cannot  experience  the  longings  of  hunger ; 
neither  can  a  human  being  without  a  moral  constitu- 
tion, desire  the  stimulus  of  moral  excitement.  These 
young  men  that  congregate  in  the  drinking  establish- 
ments, on  the  Sabbath  day,  when  thrown  out  of  tem- 
porary employment,  seek  for  other  sources  of  amuse- 
ment adapted  to  their  education,  which  has  been  of  a 
mechanical  rather  than  of  an  intellectual  character. 
Hence,  they  drown  their  reason  and  blunt  their  senses 
in  the  Circean  cup,  for  amusement  —  to  expend  their 
superabundant  nervous  energies.  They  drink  whisky, 
smoke  cigars,  chew  tobacco  and  swear  a  little,  just  to 
season  this  kind  of  amusement ;  and  if  they  do  not 
become  fatigued  at  these  kinds  of  employments,  towards 
evening — if  they  have  any  more  nervous  energy  which 
is  unexpended  —  they  get  up  a  fight,  or  set  some  one's 
house  on  fire,  to  "  get  up  a  muss,"  and  have  a  run  with 
the  engine.  They  become  restive,  nervous,  irritable, 
excitable,  mad — for  the  want  of  employment  which  will 
consume  their  pent-up  energies  ! 

The  injurious  influence  of  want  of  physical  employ- 
ment upon  the  nervous  system,  may  be  seen  among 
females,  who  are  denied  by  a  fashionable  but  foolish 
public  opinion  all  opportunity  of  engaging  in  useful 
employment.  The  great  mass  of  society  look  with 
envy  upon  the  lady  whose  wealth  enables  her  to  ride 


236  LECTURES   ON  THE 

in  her  carriage,  with  a  servant  mounted  up  before  and 
one  behind,  to  sustain  her  lazy  dignity,  and  to  express 
her  helpless  uselessness  and  imbecility ;  but  they  know 
not  the  anguish  and  pain  which  is  generated  by  her 
life  of  idleness.  Could  they  experience  her  sleepless 
nights,  her  shattered  nerves,  and  irritable  feelings, 
which  embitter  every  moment  of  her  life,  they  would 
not  exchange  their  condition  of  toil  and  its  sweet  sleep, 
their  health  and  its  enjoyments,  for  all  her  wealth  and 
all  her  misery,  which  it  has  engendered. 

Under  the  benign  and  exhilarating  influence  of  exer- 
cise, friendship  opens  her  heart,  the  miser  his  purse ; 
bigotry  widens  the  circle  of  its  charity,  and  what  is 
stranger  still,  the  crusty  old  bachelor  forgets  his  fidgets, 
and  becomes  possessed  of  at  least  momentary  generosity; 
and  the  most  obdurate  and  cruel-hearted  young  lady 
melts  and  yields  to  its  kind  and  gentle  influences.  If 
you  wish  to  procure  money  for  the  purpose  of  renewing 
your  Sabbath-school  library,  and  approach  the  miser 
while  engaged  in  his  counting-room,  poring  over  his 
musty  ledger,  he  will  only  growl,  and  scarcely  raise 
his  head  to  notice  your  presence.  But  if  you  encoun- 
ter him  returning  from  the  survey  of  his  broad  lands, 
and  demand  a  portion  of  the  contents  of  his  well-filled 
purse,  he  can  scarcely  resist  you. 

If  any  of  these  young  gentlemen  should  conclude, 
some  fine  afternoon,  to  visit  a  certain  young  lady,  for 
the  purpose  of  asking  her  whether  he  shall  hang  him- 
self or  not ;  and  if,  as  he  enters  the  room,  he  discovers 
her  at  the  piano,  where  she  has  remained  chained  for 
six  mortal  hours,  he  had  better  hold  on,  or  look  out  for 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE.  237 

"  breakers  ahead."  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  he  encoun- 
ters her  in  the  garden, 

"  Stirring  amidst  the  roses,  where  of  old 
Love  shook  the  dew-drops  from  his  glancing  hair," 

she  will  be  so  full  of  the  exuberance  of  joy  and  happi- 
ness, that  it  would  really  be  almost  cruel  to  take 
advantage  of  her  defenceless  condition !  (Applause.) 

More  than  half  of  mankind  are  dying  for  the  want 
of  something  better  to  do — for  the  want  of  a  laudable 
pursuit  or  occupation — for  the  want  of  an  object,  which 
shall  call  forth  their  dormant  energies,  and  expend 
their  immortal  powers,  which  have  no  doubt  been 
bestowed  upon  them  by  the  Creator  for  the  highest 
and  noblest  of  purposes.  Those  of  you  who  have 
experienced  the  nervous  restlessness,  depression  of 
spirits,  and  painful  ennui  produced  by  the  confinement 
incident  to  a  rainy  day,  will  know  very  well  how  to 
appreciate  the  condition  and  feelings  of  those  who  have 
no  occupation,  either  in  fair  or  in  foul  weather,  upon 
which  they  can  expend  their  accumulated  energies ;  but 
who  are  condemned  by  the  trammels  of  wealth  and 
fashion,  to  a  life  of  indolence  and  inglorious  ease. 

How  many  instances,  especially  among  females,  so- 
ciety presents,  of  noble  energies,  and  powers  of  mind 
and  body,  which  have  been  wasted  upon  trivial  occu- 
pations, or  frittered  away  upon  the  most  unworthy  ob- 
jects— in  adorning  their  persons — in  discussing  various 
objects  of  fashion  and  folly — in  village  gossip,  and  in 
traducing  the  character  of  their  neighbors  !  When  it 
is  remembered  that  thousands  of  females  are  denied,  by 
fashionable  public  opinion,  an  opportunity  to  expend 
their  energies  in  the  various  professions  and  useful 


238  LECTUKES   ON   THE 

avocations  of  life,  will  it  be  thought  strange  that  we 
have  a  large  class  of  those  called  "busy  bodies" — luck- 
less old  bachelors  and  maidens,  a  kind  of  "preserved" 
men  and  women,  who,  since  they  have  no  "  little  respon- 
sibilities "  and  useful  occupations  in  life  —  who,  since 
they  are  allowed  nothing  else  to  do,  make  it  their  busi- 
ness to  distribute  the  "  news !"  (Applause.)  They 
must  do  something,  or  else  their  health  would  suifer ; 
and  since  they  must  not  do  anything  that  is  useful, 
because  that  is  work,  and  all  kinds  of  useful  work  are 
extremely  unfashionable  and  unlady-like  employment, 
perhaps  gossipping  is  as  innocent  as  almost  any  other 
pursuit  they  could  engage  in ;  at  all  events  it  has  one 
recommendation — it  is  fashionable  ;  and  to  be  in  fashion 
is  to  be  right — in  the  estimation  of  a  large  majority. 

But  again :  the  preservation  of  the  health  of  females, 
demands  more  physical  employment  than  that  of  males ; 
for  the  reason  that  their  intellectual,  or  higher  facul- 
ties, have  not,  as  a  general  rule,  been  unfolded  and 
developed  by  a  thorough  course  of  instruction;  and 
consequently  they  cannot  expend  their  nervous  ener- 
gies upon  the  habitual  exercise  of  their  moral  senti- 
ments and  intellectual  faculties,  in  any  professional 
avocation  or  calling !  Public  opinion  declares  that  the 
education  of  a  portion  of  the  human  race,  shall  be  con- 
fined to  the  mere  accomplishments  of  life,  and  perhaps 
some  slight  knowledge  of  the  rudiments  of  literature 
and  the  sciences;  while  it  has  utterly  denied  them  all 
opportunity  of  expending  their  physical,  mental  and 
moral  energies,  in  the  various  occupations  and  callings 
which  have  been  created  by  the  necessities  of  society ! 

A  woman  may  possess  strong  moral  sentiments,  and 


PHILOSOPHY   OF    LIFE.  239 

yet  she  may  not  cultivate  and  exercise  them  to  the 
highest,  by  preaching  and  prophesying,  as  did  the  He- 
brew women  of  old !  She  may  no  longer  practice  med- 
icine, and  attend  upon  the  diseases  and  trials  peculiar 
to  her  own  sex ;  although  the  Bible  and  history  inform 
us  she  did  do  so,  with  remarkable  success,  for  more 
than  four  thousand  years ;  and  yet  she  may  nurse  a  man, 
in  all  of  the  diseases  which  human  nature  is  heir  to; 
that  is,  she  may  do  the  menial  service,  for  which,  as  a 
general  thing,  she  is  paid  nothing ;  but  when  she  rises 
to  the  dignity  of  taking  the  fee,  oh  !  says  her  protector, 
she  is  getting  out  of  her  appropriate  sphere,  as  many 
of  them  call  it !  (Sensation  and  applause.) 

A  woman  may  be  a  Queen  of  Spain,  and  of  the  Brit- 
ish Empire,  and  as  such,  sway  the  scepter  over  domin- 
ions upon  which  the  sun  has  never  set ;  and  yet,  in  a 
democratic  republic,  she  may  not  even  quietly  deposit 
her  vote  in  the  ballot  box.  She  may  appear  upon  the 
stage  in  a  theatre,  in  a  short  frock,  and  after  kicking 
up  her  heels  in  the  most  approved,  artistic,  and  fash- 
ionable manner,  kings  will  confer  upon  her  orders  of 
nobility,  and  our  fashionable  young  men  will  harness 
themselves  like  beasts  into  her  carriage,  and  draw  her 
home  to  her  lodgings,  as  they  did  the  "  Divine  Fanny," 
at  Baltimore!  (Sensation.)  A  woman,  as  we  have 
recently  seen,  may  perform  the  grand  tour  of  the  Union, 
and  appear  upon  the  stage  of  every  theatre  in  a  low- 
necked  dress,  and  after  singing  at  the  very  top  of  her 
voice,  excite  the  most  enthusiastic  applause,  and  yet 
she  may  not  appear  in  the  pulpit,  or  as  the  president 
of  a  benevolent  society !  She  may  read  Shakspeare  to 
large  and  fashionable  audiences,  but  not  her  own  com- 


240  LECTURES   ON   THE 

position.  She  may  contribute  to  found  theological 
seminaries  and  colleges  of  learning,  but  she  must  not 
claim  an  equal  right  to  their  benefits  in  a  good  educa- 
tion. She  may  make  shirts  and  coats  at  sixpence  a 
piece,  but  some  man  must  sell  them,  and  pocket  the 
receipts  !  (Sensation  and  applause.) 

Now,  no  sensible  or  well  informed  man  or  woman, 
can  fail  to  observe  that  such  distinctions  between  what 
a  woman  may  or  may  not  do,  or  be,  are  not  parts  of  a 
great  and  harmonious  system,  founded  upon  a  principle, 
and  in  accordance  with  the  constitution  and  wants  of 
woman,  but  they  are  the  mere  heterogeneous  dictates 
of  custom  and  fashion !  (Applause. )  The  eternal  God 
has  bestowed  upon  every  human  being  the  same  tal- 
ents— though  they  may  not  be  equal  in  all  cases ;  and 
He  has  given  us  the  right  to  cultivate  them  to  the  high- 
est, and  to  use  them  in  His  service,  and  no  mexeman 
shall  take  upon  himself  the  right  to  deny  a  human 
being  an  opportunity  to  do  so !  For  my  part,  I  ac- 
knowledge but  one  master,  whose  counsels  I  would 
strive  to  follow,  and  1  allow  no  man  or  woman  to  stand 
between  me  and  Him,  to  determine  what  are  or  what 
are  not  my  rights  !  (Renewed  applause.) 

The  deprivation  of  an  opportunity  of  engaging  in  all 
the  active  duties  of  life,  is  the  chief  cause  of  many 
of  those  nervous  diseases  so  common  among  females, 
and  which  in  many  instances  render  life  almost  intol- 
erable. The  headaches,  nervous  irritability  and  weak- 
ness, the  loss  of  memory,  ^mental  confusion,  and  giddi- 
ness, &c.,  are  but  the  legitimate  results  of  sedentary 
habits,  and  physical,  mental  and  moral  inactivity ;  and 
nothing  can  prove  a  complete  and  perfect  antidote  for 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   LIFE.  241 

them  but  exercise  and  employment,  which  equalize 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,  as  well  as  the  excitability 
of  the  nervous  system  ! 

2d.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  the  amount  and  kind 
of  employment  demanded  by  good  health,  depend  upon 
age  and  temperament. 

"  The  temper,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  is  by  most  peo- 
ple looked  upon  as  a  quality  of  the  mind,  whereas  it  is 
solely  one  of  the  body."  Metaphysicians  have  not  always 
been  the  best  versed  in  a  knowledge  of  human  nature, 
and  how  could  they  be,  since  they  only  studied  half 
the  subject  —  the  mind  and  not  the  body]  —  and  many 
qualities,  dispositions  and  propensities  were  conse- 
quently assigned  by  them  to  the  mind,  which  belong  to 
the  body,  and  only  effect  the  mind  secondarily.  Tem- 
per is  in  fact  the  offspring  of  temperament,  which  is 
material  and  not  mental.  If  this  were  not  true,  how 
is  it  that  a  man's  temper  is  entirely  changed  by  severe 
illness  I  Does  the  mind  or  soul  change  thus  I  Not  at 
all.  But  the  physical  constitution,  the  health  of  the 
body  changes,  and  the  temper  or  temperament  with  it. 
Nor  does  this  view  of  the  subject  offer  any  apology  for 
the  non-restraint,  or  change  of  our  tempers,  appetites, 
passions  and  propensities,  by  means  of  reason  and  the 
moral  sentiments;  but  on  the  contrary,  it  holds  out  the 
strongest  incentives  to  employ  our  moral  and  mental 
powers  for  the  purpose  of  coercing  and  removing  these 
physical  evils.  If  tempers  and  passions  were  exclu- 
sively mental  —  the  mind  could  not  control  them  any 
more  than  it  can  its  own  operations,  or  the  body  itself 
could  control  its  own  temperament.  As  the  temper 
and  passions,  then,  are  the  attributes  of  the  grosser  part 
16 


242  LECTURES   ON  THE 

of  our  nature,  it  is  for  the  immaterial  agent  to  quell,  or 
at  least  to  restrain  and  check  them. 

Physiologists  have  usually  divided  the  temperaments 
into  four  —  namely,  the  nervous,  the  bilious,  the  lym- 
phatic, and  the  sanguine.  It  is  however  rarely  the  case 
that  we  meet  these  temperaments  in  their  purity  in  any 
one  person.  As  a  general  rule,  we  find  them  more  or 
less  mixed  with  each  other,  producing  a  combination  of 
the  peculiarity  of  feeling  and  mental  and  moral  quali- 
ties of  the  original.  A  knowledge  of  the  nature  and 
peculiarities  of  these  various  temperaments  is  of  great 
practical  importance,  especially  to  parents,  since  they 
may  be  changed  into  each  other,  and  their  evil  qualities 
and  fatal  tendencies  be  changed  and  averted  by  the 
appropriate  adaptation  of  means  to  ends  on  the  part  of 
their  children. 

The  nervous  temperament  differs  from  all  of  the 
others,  in  the  predominant  development  of  the  nervous 
system,  rendering  the  constitution  exquisitely  suscepti- 
ble to  all  mental,  moral  and  physical  impressions,  and 
capable  of  the  highest  enjoyment  or  the  most  exquisite 
misery.  The  brain  is  large  and  well  developed,  while 
the  vital  and  nutritive  systems  are  small  and  feeble, 
giving  them  a  thin  and  sharp  countenance  and  weak 
and  feeble  muscles.  To  a  person  so  constituted,  if  suc- 
cessful in  his  various  avocations  and  employments, 
there  is  no  limit  to  his  pleasures  and  enjoyments ;  but 
if,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  unsuccessful,  there  is  no  end 
to  his  sufferings  and  torments.  In  the  morning,  he 
will  be  full  of  hope  and  joy,  and  in  the  evening  often 
overcome  with  gloom  and  despair. 

Such  persons  take  great  delight  in  literary  employ- 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  243 

ments  —  in  books  and  lectures  —  in  study  and  in 
intellectual  excitement  —  and  abhor  all  physical  em- 
ployment and  bodily  exercise,  even  for  the  purpose  of 
improving  their  physical  constitution.  If  this  tem- 
perament is  developed  by  continued  mental  excitement, 
the  nervous  system  will  become,  in  time,  so  exquisitely 
sensitive,  that  the  constitution  will  be  like  a  barometer, 
susceptible  of  the  slightest  impression  produced  by  the 
most  trivial  causes,  rendering  them  morose,  peevish, 
cross  and  irritable  and  extremely  unhappy.  As  might 
be  expected,  a  child  of  this  temperament  requires  the 
most  careful  treatment  on  the  part  of  its  parents. 
Such  children  very  often  display  extraordinary  preco- 
city and  development  of  intellectual  faculties,  which 
may  be  seized  upon  by  the  parents  as  an  evidence  of 
great  genius,  and  no  opportunity  spared  to  stimulate 
an  already  diseased,  nervous  system,  by  books  and  intel- 
lectual excitement,  until  inflammation  of  the  membranes 
of  the  brain  takes  place,  and  the  child  is  lost.  This 
precocity,  as  we  have  seen,  depends  upon  the  extraor- 
dinary, the  unnatural  development  of  its  nervous  sys- 
tem, while  the  other  organs  are  feeble  and  imperfectly 
formed.  At  best,  such  a  child  stands,  during  the  first 
few  years  of  its  feeble  life,  with  one  foot  already  in  the 
grave  ;  and  if  all  nervous  and  intellectual  excitement 
is  not  carefully  avoided,  its  life  will  be  sacrificed,  and 
the  very  precocity  of  its  genius  will  only  increase  the 
agony  which  the  parents  will  feel  at  the  parting. 
Those  who  are  so  constituted  either  in  youth  or  in  after 
life,  should  avoid  all  mental  excitement,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble—  they  should  lay  aside  books  and  intellectual 
pursuits  and  employments  and  earnestly  engage  in  the 


244  LECTURES   ON   THE 

pursuits  of  the  agriculturist  and  the  fanner,  in  all  of 
the  out-door  employments  and  avocations  which  will 
strengthen  and  develop  their  vital  and  their  muscular 
powers,  while  their  nervous  system  remains  dormant 
and  at  rest.  By  this  means  they  will  change  their 
constitutional  peculiarities,  and  with  them  their  tem- 
peraments also. 

In  the  bilious  temperament,  the  development  of  the 
muscular  system  predominates,  giving  to  those  so  con- 
stituted, great  capacities  for  physical  endurance.  In 
early  life,  such  children  are  known  as  those  who  are 
called  stupid  or  inactive,  on  account  of  the  small  size 
of  their  brains,  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  ner- 
vous and  sanguine  temperaments.  Persons  so  consti- 
tuted, take  great  delight  in  labor  upon  the  farm  or 
in  the  mechanic's  workshop — they  are  indeed  the 
hewers  of  wood  and  the  drawers  of  water,  and  have 
little  or  no  taste  for  literary  or  scientific  pursuits.  If 
they  attend  church,  they  will  generally  fall  asleep  be- 
fore the  sermon  is  half  delivered!  They  generally 
have  a  mulish  or  sulky  temper,  which,  when  once  ex- 
cited, is  not  easily  overcome  by  reason  or  by  the  moral 
sentiments,  but  is  easily  worked  off  through  the  agency 
of  muscular  exertion.  If  any  of  these  ladies  happen 
to  have  a  husband  of  this  description  and  they  should 
unfortunately  offend  him,  they  should  not  attempt  to 
reason  or  dispute  with  him,  for  he  is  as  contrary  as  a 
mule  ;  but  stand  clear  and  give  him  plenty  of  room,  and 
he  will  work  his  anger  off,  and  feel  much  better  satis- 
fied with  himself  than  he  would  if  you  had  attempted 
to  coax  him  with  smiles  and  gentle  persuasions,  which 
are  only  thrown  away  upon  such  a  nature !  (Laugh- 
ter and  applause.) 


PHILOSOPHY   OP  LIFE.  245 

The  lymphatic  temperament  may  be  recognized  by 
the  prominent  development  of  the  nutritive  system,  and 
the  general  torpor  which  is  manifested  in  the  move- 
ments of  all  of  the  physical  organs,  and  mental  and 
moral  powers.  The  heart  is  small  and  beats  slowly, 
the  pulse  is  feeble,  and  the  vital  powers  seem  to  per- 
form their  functions  with  difficulty.  The  skin  is 
covered  with  a  cold,  clammy  perspiration.  If  a  human 
being  so  constituted,  indulges  in  excessive  eating  and 
becomes  an  epicure,  cultivating  his  appetite  to  the 
highest,  and  at  the  same  time  leads  a  sedentary  and  in- 
active life,  he  soon  acquires  the  sumptuous  proportions 
of  the  Alderman  and  keeper  of  the  "  White  Bear,"  or 
"  Turk's  Head,"  and  is  always  in  good  humor,  but 
more  especially  so  just  after  dinner.  Persons  of  this 
temperament  are  famous  pot-house  politicians,  and  gen- 
erally contrive  to  fill  all  of  the  good  offices  in  the  gift 
of  the  people,  of  "  My  Lord  Mayor  "  and  the  Alderman, 
"  with  his  well  stuffed  capon,"  whose  stomach  is  his 
God  and  the  seat  of  all  his  sensibility.  If  you  would 
find  your  way  to  the  heart  and  conscience  of  such  a 
man,  it  must  always  be  through  the  stomach  and  not 
the  brain.  He  abhors  all  thought,  as  it  makes  his 
head  ache.  Give  him  a  gallon  of  ale  and  two  quarts 
of  turtle  soup,  and  he  will  be  your  friend  for  life,  and 
if  found  as  a  representative  at  Columbus,  will  vote  well 
on  that  side  of  the  question  whose  friends  give  the  best 
oyster  suppers.  (Laughter  and  applause.)  He  eats 
enormously,  and  after  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  his 
greatest  source  of  enjoyment  is  a  good  sleep  in  his  easy 
arm-chair,  where  he  can  "  snore  like  a  porpoise."  His 
friends  ask  him  when  he  rises  from  his  slumbers  in  the 


246  LECTUKBS   ON  THE 

morning,  if  he  heard  the  thunder  last  night  I  and  he 
replies,  "no  indeed,  I  never  knows  nothing  after  I  go  to 
sleep,  until  the  next  morning."  It  would  take  at  least 
forty  earthquakes  to  make  him  wink  once;  he  is  so 
phlegmatic,  cold  and  insensible.  (Laughter  and  ap- 
plause.) This  temperament  is  unfavorable  for  great 
length  of  life,  or  mental  and  moral  activity;  but  it  may 
be  changed,  corrected  and  improved,  by  restricting  the 
diet  to  a  few  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  engaging  in 
active  out-door  employments,  which  will  stimulate  and 
develop  the  heart  and  arteries,  and  reduce  the  deposit 
of  adipose  matter,  and  develop  the  muscular  system! 
Great  advantage  will  also  be  derived  from  intellectual 
pursuits,  which  will  strengthen  and  develop  the  ner- 
vous system,  and  restore  the  equilibrium  of  the  consti- 
tution. 

The  sanguine  temperament  may  be  recognized  from 
the  remarkable  development  of  the  vascular  system 
which  accompanies  it,  such  persons  having  large  hearts 
and  arteries,  giving  them  red  and  rosy  cheeks,  and  all 
of  the  indications  of  good  health  and  long  life.  A 
person  so  constituted,  is  full  of  vital  energies,  and  in- 
clined to  active  employments.  They  seem  never  to 
enjoy  themselves  except  when  engaged  in  some  kind 
of  employment,  and  if  disappointed  in  its  results,  they 
are  no  sooner  down  than  their  natural  elasticity  buoys 
them  up  again.  They  may  be  disappointed  often  in 
business,  because  too  sanguine  in  their  expectations, 
but  they  are  never  discouraged.  Boys  of  this  temper- 
ament, if  not  employed  in  worthy  and  benevolent  occu- 
pations, will  become  restless  and  extremely  unhappy — 
often  incline  to  mischievous  and  vicious  employments. 


PHILOSOPHY   OF  LIFE.  247 

To  remain  entirely  quiet  and  do  absolutely  nothing, 
with  their  sanguine  temperaments  and  active  energies, 
seems  almost  an  impossibility ;  and  fortunate  will  it  be 
for  such  youths  if  they  have  parents,  teachers,  and 
guardians  who  recognize  their  constitutional  predispo- 
sition, and  skillfully  provide  for  them  the  means  of 
rational  employment  and  mental  and  moral  improve- 
ment. They  long  for  employment  and  pant  for  exertion, 
and  if  their  parents  do  not  provide  for  them  good  books, 
and  subscribe  for  the  best  newspapers  and  literary 
magazines,  they  will  frequent  the  theater,  the  tavern, 
and  the  gambling-house  in  pursuit  of  amusement,  as  it 
has  been  termed.  In  school  they  will  often  be  detected 
in  their  mischievous  tricks,  such  as  snapping  paper 
balls  at  the  other  scholars,  or  sticking  them  with  a  pin 
fastened  in  a  bench,  or,  perhaps,  pinning  a  piece  of 
paper  to  the  teacher's  coat-tail,  (a  laugh,)  all  designed 
for  amusement,  and  not  desiring  to  do  anything  wrong, 
or  produce  the  least  harm  or  disturbance  in  the  school. 
They  are  so  full  of  the  natural  exuberance  of  joy  and 
activity,  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  control  them- 
selves, or  sit  still  for  a  single  moment. 

Horace  Mann,  in  one  of  his  most  excellent  reports 
upon  the  common  school  system  of  Massachusetts, 
relates  an  amusing  anecdote,  which  illustrates  the 
peculiarities  of  this  temperament.  In  visiting  one  of 
the  schools  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  his  attention 
was  attracted  to  the  movements  of  a  little,  rosy-cheeked 
boy,  who  sat  on  a  bench  near  the  door.  It  seems  that 
it  was  past  the  usual  hour  to  close  the  school,  and  this 
young  lad  had  put  away  his  books,  and  procured  his 
cap  and  held  it  in  his  hand,  ready  to  jump  and  scream 


248  LECTURES   ON  THE 

the  moment  that  the  teacher  had  dismissed  them. 
This  evening  the  teacher  was  busily  engaged  solving  a 
difficult  problem  for  some  of  the  larger  scholars,  and 
did  not  notice  that  it  was  past  the  usual  hour  to  close 
the  session  of  his  school.  The  young  lad  became  very 
restless  and  impatient,  casting  an  anxious  glance  first 
at  the  teacher,  and  then  at  the  door,  until  at  last  for- 
getting himself  in  his  great  anxiety  to  escape,  he 
whistled  so  loud  that  the  teacher  heard  him.  "  John," 
says  he,  "  was  that  you  who  whistled "?  "  "  No,"  says 
he,  "  master,  it  was  not  me."  "  Yes  it  was,"  continued 
the  teacher.  "  What  did  you  tell  me  that  wrong  story 
for V  "I  did  not,  master ;  I  did  not  whistle,"  contin- 
ued John,  beginning  to  cry ;  "  it  whistled  itself,  and  I 
could  not  help  it."  (Laughter  and  applause.)  Many 
young  lads  of  this  temperament,  like  John,  require  em- 
ployment ;  and  if  their  parents  wisely  provide  for  them 
that  which  will  contribute  to  ennoble  and  improve  them, 
they  will  gladly  avail  themselves  of  it ;  but  if  they  do 
not,  they  will  become  vicious  and  mischievous,  because 
their  untiring  energies  must  be  expended. 

3d.  It  is  a  natural  law  that  impure  blood  injures 
the  brain,  paralyzes  the  nerves,  and  produces  numerous 
diseases  of  the  nervous  system. 

The  health  of  the  nervous  system  not  only  requires 
that  the  blood  should  be  nutritious,  but  that  it  should 
be  pure,  and  free  from  all  hereditary  taint.  If  you  ob- 
serve those  persons  whose  employments  require  them 
to  spend  the  greater  part  of  their  time  in  the  close  and 
ill-ventilated  apartments  of  our  various  manufactur- 
ing establishments,  you  will  notice  the  pernicious  influ- 
ence of  carbonic  acid  gas,  not  only  upon  the  respiratory 


PHILOSOPHY  OF   LIFE.  249 

organs,  but  also  upon  the  nervous  system,  in  the  head- 
aches, nervous  debility,  mental  confusion,  weakness 
and  exhaustion  with  which  they  are  afflicted.  The 
poor  unfortunate  female  who  pursues  her  lonely  occu- 
pation from  early  morning  until  the  approach  of  even- 
ing —  and  too  often  from  evening  until  morning  —  in 
close  and  impure  air,  necessarily  becomes  nervous,  and 
subject  to  fits  of  hysteria,  nervous  debility,  and  melan- 
choly ;  not  because  she  is  a  woman,  but  rather  because 
her  sedentary  and  inactive  employment,  in  impure  air, 
destroys  her  health  and  strength ;  and  this  affords  us 
a  strong  reason  why  we  should  sympathize  with  her, 
rather  than  ridicule  these  exhibitions  of  her  feebleness 
and  exhaustion! 

Hysteria  is  no  disease  of  the  imagination,  as  many 
vulgar  persons  have  supposed,  but  is  really  an  indica- 
tion of  a  complicated  derangement  of  the  nutritive  and 
vital  systems,  most  difficult  to  understand,  and  still 
more  difficult  to  remove ;  and  its  miserable  victim  is 
often  more  to  be  pitied  than  she  who  labors  under  the 
influence  of  fever,  or  any  of  the  various  forms  of  inflam- 
mation ! 

If  you  visit  our  numerous  public  charitable  institu- 
tions, you  will  soon  ascertain  the  dreadful  inroads 
which  confinement  in  impure  air,  causes  upon  our 
physical,  mental  and  moral  constitution.  How  many 
thousands  of  poor  unfortunate  emigrants,  who  have 
sought  the  peaceful  and  happy  shores  of  America, 
have  found  an  untimely  grave  beneath  the  blue  waves 
of  the  ocean,  or  have  lingered  out  a  miserable  exist- 
ence, and  finally  sink  and  die  of  nervous  or  ship  fever, 
contracted  by  respiring  the  impure  air  in  the  narrow 


250  LECTURES    ON   THE 

space  allotted  to  them  by  the  mercenary  owners  of 
many  emigrant  vessels  !  We  rejoice  that  the  subject 
has  recently  attracted  the  attention  of  Congress,  and 
that  an  appropriate  remedy  is  likely  to  be  applied.  In 
our  numerous  jails  and  public  prisons,  nervous  or  jail 
fevers,  of  a  similar  character,  frequently  occur,  and 
during  their  progress,  carry  oif  large  numbers  of  their 
unfortunate  inmates.  These,  and  similar  occurrences, 
demonstrate  to  us  the  great  importance  of  ventilation 
in  our  sleeping  apartments  and  dwellings,  school  houses, 
and  churches.  In  many  of  our  churches,  the  air  be- 
comes so  confined  and  impure  during  the  services,  and 
the  nervous  systems  of  the  audience  so  weak  and  ex- 
hausted under  its  influence,  that  nearly  one-half  of  the 
congregation  sleep,  instead  of  listening  to  the  sermon ! 
If  you  visit  our  school  houses  for  the  education  of  the 
rising  generation,  you  will  generally  observe  that  they 
have  been  constructed  without  any  regard  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  ventilation ;  and  consequently,  that  the  air 
which  these  young  and  tender  children  breathe  for  six 
hours,  is,  in  many  instances,  so  impure  as  to  be  offen- 
sive even  to  the  sense  of  smell ! 

During  the  past  season,  several  of  our  first  class  col- 
leges and  seminaries  were  closed,  on  account  of  the 
fatal  prevalence  of  nervous  or  typhoid  and  typhus 
fevers,  produced  by  neglecting  these  principles  in  the 
construction  of  their  dormitories  or  sleeping 'apart- 
ments. A  young  lady  or  gentleman  may  accustom 
themselves  to  retire  for  the  night  and  sleep  in  a  small 
room,  with  the  windows  closed  and  the  door  shut  air- 
tight ;  and  when  they  rise  in  the  morning,  they  will 
complain  of  nervous  and  sick  head-ache  —  of  the  want 


PHILOSOPHY  OP  LIFE.  251 

of  the  refreshing  influence  of  sleep  from  the  previous 
night's  repose ;  and  in  a  short  time  they  will  become 
dyspeptic,  nervous  and  irritable ;  and  if  they  still  per- 
sist in  inhaling  impure  air,  they  may  be  seized  with 
nervous  or  ship  fever,  which  is  contagious,  and  may 
destroy  many  members  of  the  same  family.  Such  inci- 
dents in  relation  to  this  most  fatal  malady  may  be  met 
with  frequently. 

But  the  injurious  consequence  arising  to  the  physical 
health  of  the  human  being,  is  not  the  only  evil  resulting 
from  the  neglect  of  the  principles  of  ventilation,  in  the 
erection  of  our  dwellings.  The  injurious  effects  upon 
our  mental  and  moral  natures  are  equally  disastrous. 
If  we  visit  large  manufacturing  towns,  where  thousands 
of  males  and  females  are  pent  up  in  impure  air,  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  day,  we  shall  there  behold  its 
injurious  influence  in  the  state  of  public  morals.  Con- 
trast, if  you  please,  the  inhabitants  of  mountainous 
regions  with  those  who  live  in  the  valleys  beneath  them, 
and  you  will  often  observe  the  great  mental  and  moral 
superiority  of  the  former  over  the  latter.  Down  in  the 
deep  mountain  gorges  and  valleys  of  Switzerland,  where 
the  air  is  scarcely  agitated  by  the  currents  and  counter- 
currents  of  the  mountain  breezes,  we  behold  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  poor  miserable  Cretans,  who  are  re- 
duced so  low  in  the  scale  of  animal  life,  by  the  general 
prevalence  of  the  causes  of  cretanism  or  scrofula,  as  to 
be  scarcely  recognizable  as  human  beings ;  while  upon 
the  crests  of  the  bleak  mountains,  we  shall  observe  a 
race  of  men  as  hardy  and  as  free  as  ever  the  sun  has 
shone  upon ! 

"  Ye  mountains,  crags,  and  peaks  ! 

I  am  with  you  once  again ;  I  hold  to  you  these  hands 


252        LECTUEES   ON  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF   LIFE. 

Ye  first  beheld,  to  show  they  still  are  free. 
Methinks  I  hear  a  spirit  in  your  echoes  answer  me, 
And  bid  your  truant  welcome  to  his  home  again." 

Here,  amidst  these  fastnesses  of  the  mountains,  flour- 
ished the  principles  of  the  reformation ;  while  the  low- 
lands of  Holland  and  Italy  are  cursed  with  ignorance, 
vice  and  superstition,  even  until  this  day !  Here,  too, 
was  the  cradle  of  liberty !  These  hardy  sons  of  Swit- 
zerland are  as  free  as  the  eagle  which  makes  its  home 
in  the  cliffs  of  their  own  native  mountains.  They  have 
withstood  the  craft  of  the  wily  Austrian,  and  the  power 
of  the  French  monarchy,  for  ages,  and  offered  to  the 
wounded  and  bleeding  patriot  an  asylum  sacred  from 
the  approach  of  the  agents  and  spies  of  despotism ! 


The  above  outline  of  the  celebrated  statue  of 
Hercules,  (which  was  intended  to  face  page  192,) 
represents  the  influence  of  muscular  exercise  up- 
on the  education  and  development  of  this  system. 
Such  a  development  of  physical  power  cannot  be 
secured  by  the  use  of  pills,  and  plasters,  and 
strengthening  remedies,  but  by  physical  education. 


14  DAY  USE 

TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

fl,f!>fl  I\!K    Mr 

:^  ifu^L  o  oii  iU 


or 


immediate  recall. 


Tel.  No.  $42-25 1 


LD  21-327nr-3  '74 
(B7057slO)476-^A-32 


University  of  CaSfwnia 
Berkeley 


